


Beautiful Mind

by NoFacedFaith



Category: Shi ga Futari wo Wakatsu made | Until Death Do Us Part
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Blood and Gore, Crime, Dark, F/M, Families of Choice, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Loss of Control, Murder, Past Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Precognition, Psychological Horror, Self-Harm, more tags will be added, too much crying
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-07
Updated: 2015-07-27
Packaged: 2018-03-16 19:23:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 31,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3500018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoFacedFaith/pseuds/NoFacedFaith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The future is formed by a series of complex choices. No one knows this better than the members of Team Bade. However, can each of them make the right choice when deception and lies brew between themselves? What is Haruka hiding that could spell the death of them all?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Denial

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: This fic will contain some themes which may be triggering to some. I will add warnings at the beginning of the chapters in which they appear, but please be careful. Also, this fic will not follow cannon, and will stay in Tokyo most of the time.  
> Feedback is welcome (I am still a novice writer) and I will appreciate it if you tell me if I made any errors.  
> Thank you! I hope you enjoy.

It had started with small things; randomly zoning out for a few minutes, pausing in sentences, her eyes flickering around the room every so often. Igawa only noticed the odd behaviour for the first time when he walked into the kitchen one night wiping his greasy hands on an old towel after a day's work in the garage. He had been working on his beloved van, adorning it with new upgrades in its system and a few good coats of polish (such a sophisticated vehicle deserved to look just as good on the outside as it did on the inside in Igawa's opinion). It was the team's day off, so it was only Igawa and Haruka in the large house. Dai had left early on his motorbike after a hearty breakfast, Juliet had waltzed away with a bounce in her step informing no one in particular that she was going shopping, and Mamoru had slept in and also decided to go on an outing himself, murmuring something about cake as he left through the front door, his trusted cane in hand.

Haruka was standing at the kitchen bench, seemingly preparing the ingredients for that night's dinner, as was her routine at that time of the night. Igawa was about to continue on his way to the fridge for a much needed drink of cold water when he noticed something off with the scene in front of him.

The hand holding the kitchen knife was frozen in the air, the girl's gaze blank as it bore holes into the steel sink in front of her. But closer inspection showed the girl's silver eyes unfocused, as though observing a scene play out in the distance.

Igawa had stood in the doorway, puzzled at the girl's statue like stillness.

"Haruka, you okay?" he called out, then waited for a response but received only heavy silence. There was no indication that Haruka had even heard him, despite her being only a few feet away from him. Slightly alarmed, Igawa quickly advanced until he stood behind her and firmly grasped the blonde's shoulder.

Haruka jerked at the sudden contact and whipped her head around to face the techie with wide eyes and a sharp inhale of breathe. There was something close to a mix of fear and confusion clouding her wide gaze, worrying the man further.

"You okay?" Igawa repeated; his voice laced with concern at her frightened reaction. The hand holding the girl's shoulder unconsciously tightened as his stomach began to churn. The man had no idea why Haruka would be so startled by a simple touch.

Haruka didn't say anything for a few agonizingly slow moments, just stood there transfixed, as though her body had been put under a spell. The techie noticed how her eyes continuously flickered slightly to the left of his cornrowed head.

Finally, Haruka's tense frame relaxed and her widened eyes went back to their usual calm state, a small reassuring smile replacing the tight line her lips were in. Not a trace of her previous fright remained as she stood, torso twisted around to look at the worried man directly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I was just daydreaming a bit, sorry." She replied apologetically, breathing a light chuckle. Igawa kept his gaze firmly on the girl, unconvinced that her weird trance was simply a day dream. That wasn't normal, something was definitely off…

Haruka noticed his scrutinizing look, and then dropped her gaze to the floor guiltily, reminding Igawa of a puppy caught stealing its owner's shoes to hide in the back yard. The awkward silence that followed confirmed the lie, and Igawa could feel his chest constrict slightly with anxiety. "Was it a vision?" he asked faintly, trying hard to keep the worry out of his voice.

Haruka's cool silver eyes looked up tentatively at Igawa's dark ones through his square glasses, before dropping back down to her feet that fidgeted nervously. "…yes" she replied with uncertainty, looking uncomfortable under Igawa's unfaltering gaze.

_A vision…_ Igawa thought to himself. That would explain her lack of awareness when he first called her. "Is it something we should know about?" He asked gravely, knowing how useful her foresight can be for 'Team Blade' on their missions – her precognitive abilities had saved the members' lives enough times for them to place their faith in her visions.

Haruka shook her head with more certainty, turning back around to face the kitchen bench before replying "No, nothing like that. It didn't really tell me much; I just saw a few images of a few buildings. There was nothing that stood out about them." Haruka resumed chopping a carrot as she added "I may see something more later, but at the moment it's of no help."

Igawa wearily sighed, convinced of Haruka's explanation. These kinds of visions were not uncommon, where Haruka sees a few images in her mind rather than a full scenario. Igawa dropped his hand from Haruka's shoulder down to his side and made his way to the fridge where he finally got his bottle of water before retreating to the doorway, pausing his steps to turn back to face the girl who was humming a soft tune as she continued to calmly chop vegetables. "I'll be on the computer, so just give me a shout when dinner is ready."

Haruka waved a hand dismissively with a low hum of understanding, not bothering to turn back around. Recognizing that there was nothing left to be said, the techie continued to make his way to his beloved computer set where he planned to go through more coded gibberish in preparation for a few upcoming missions. He also mused quietly to himself that he should probably get in contact with some of the other Network members to share information and debrief.

The incident was forgotten and never crossed the man's mind for a number of weeks.

First mistake

* * *

 

"Haruka, have you lost some weight?"

The blonde momentarily stopped chewing a mouthful of her dinner to look up at the tanned beauty sitting across from her at the dining table. Haruka's eyebrows scrunched up a bit in confusion while she finished off her mouthful of food before replying. "No, I don't think so. Why do you ask?" She added curiously as she regarded Juliet calmly.

"It's just that you seem thinner than before, and your clothes look a bit big on you for some reason." Juliet continued to carefully look over Haruka for a bit before turning to face Igawa on her right. "Igawa, what do you think?"

The techie's hand holding his chopsticks stopped mid-air, half way to his awaiting mouth to cast his gaze over to Juliet before also looking at Haruka seated on the opposite side of the table. "I don't really know..." Igawa commented before stuffing his mouth with his delayed mouthful of food. Placing his chopsticks down on the table, he leaned back in his chair as he narrowed his eyes, taking in Haruka's thin wrists and how her red long sleeved top seemed to hang off her narrow frame. Examining the child before him, he began to notice other things as well. "Actually, I think you might be right, Juliet" he stated evenly. "You do seem kind of thinner than before, and you look kind of tired as well" he mused, scrutinizing the shadows under her eyes and how her eye lids seemed to droop as though they weighed more than they should, willing to be shut to lull the girl to sleep.

Haruka laughed nervously, feeling extremely uncomfortable under the strong gazes of the two adults before her. "No, I really don't think so. It's probably just your imagination" she offered quickly with a reassuring smile.

"No. They're right. You have lost weight" a deep voice cut through the conversation before anyone else can get another word in. The three of them turned to regard Mamoru who continued to calmly eat his meal, slightly surprised at the unexpected input from the blind swordsman.

A heavy silence fell over the dining table as everyone was lost in their own thoughts, the only sound interrupting the silence the rhythmic ticks of a clock and the sound of Dai wolfing down his meal, seemingly oblivious to the tension at the table.

The moment of quiet was broken when Mamoru took a long drink from his cup, placing it down to resume his comment. "I barely see you eating when you're not at the table with the rest of us, and even then, your portions are smaller than they used to be. You also seem to be less attentive lately, so I'm guessing you're not sleeping well, either."

After another moment of silence, realizing that Mamoru had nothing left to say, Juliet, Igawa and even Dai – who paused his rapid consumption of food for a moment – all turned to face Haruka, clearly expecting her to say something.

Feeling extremely uncomfortable under the strong gazes of the three adults, Haruka hastily stood and excused herself, murmuring something about needing to clean the kitchen as she made her hurried retreat, dirty cutlery in hand.

Igawa and Juliet looked at each other curiously, then shrugged off the girl's odd behaviour and continued eating quietly, occasionally exchanging a few words about their day.

As the casual air returned to the dining room, unseeing eyes behind shades remained fixed on the door where the girl had exited from, brows furrowed and lips pressed into a thin line. After a quick internal debate, Mamoru decided against telling the other members of his team what he had heard in the middle of the night on a number of occasions in the past few weeks.

Mamoru had been woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of the girl's quiet sobbing, and the subtle but distinct smell of blood.


	2. Abnormal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tension within the team rises, and they can no longer deny that something is wrong with Haruka.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So here's chapter 2! I'm not sure how regularly I will be updating this fic, but I've already written a few chapters so it probably won't be too long. Again, if there are any errors please let me know. I hope you enjoy!

The delicate tendrils of winder was finally melting into the warm glow of spring, escorting with it the colourful buds of flowers, fresh blades of grass, pleasant puffs of perfumed wind, and the appearance of a bright sun, much welcomed by the members of Team Blade. It was a surprisingly warm day – even for the beginning of spring – and the five occupants of the large house in the heart of Tokyo found themselves in a good mood, made better by the lack of a mission in the last few days. Dai had complained that he was bored with the lack of activity in their area of the city, but was harshly chastised by Igawa – the optimist that he is – that it was good news for the community if they had less to do, as it meant the streets were safer.

The sun had reached and passed its peak, beginning to dip under the shadowed city line, staining the sky in rich shades of orange, yellow and blushes of deep burgundy bleeding into a royal blue. Mamoru was outside in the yard, swinging his sword with perfect precision, lacking a single flaw in his technique. Dai lay comatose on his bed, curled up with his black and white cat, rhythmic light snoring coming from the still form, taking advantage of the cosy warmth to indulge in a long nap. Igawa and Juliet lounged around in the large open area being used as a study/rec-room by the crew, doing their own thing – Juliet splayed over a couch lazily flicking through a fashion magazine, and Igawa tapping away on his multi-screened computer set, completely absorbed in his own digital world – when Haruka exited her room quietly, smoothly making her way down the flight of stars until she reached the entrance hall, pulling on a dark hoodie over her long sleeve shirt.

Igawa noticed her presence first despite the headphones blaring obnoxious rap music into his ears, which he removed to hang around his neck loosely as he diverted a part of his attention to the girl pulling on a pair of runners, but never taking his eyes off the screen or slowing his rapid typing. “Haruka, where you going?”

The girl shrugged a shoulder as she knelt down to tie her laces “Out” She replied simply, offering no explanation.

The hands flying across the keyboard stopped as the owner of said hands swivelled around in his office chair like a Hollywood movie villain to regard the girl incredulously. Even Juliet looked up curiously at the sudden silence, gaze flickering between the other two occupants in the room.

After a few more moments of heavy silence, Igawa leaned forward to supporting his weight on his elbows resting on his jean clad knees. “What do you mean by you’re going ‘out’?”

“It means I’m going out of the house for a while.” was Haruka’s monotone response.

“Where to?”

“Anywhere”

“By yourself?”

“Yes.”

“No.” Igawa said with finality, leaning back heavily in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. Haruka finally stood up from her kneeling position, having finished tying her laces and turned her head to look at the techie across the room, her face void of any expression. Juliet was now sitting upright in her seat, the shiny magazine lying forgotten on her lap in favour of observing the usually cheerful two stare each other down as the tension in the room grew heavy with every passing second.

Igawa continued to look at Haruka with narrowed calculating eyes, greatly irked by the girl’s sudden and unexpected attitude. _What’s wrong with her? She’s never acted like this before…_ Igawa contemplated bemusedly in his head.

Seeing that Haruka was not going to say anything, Igawa continued his small lecture with a strained voice; “You already know that it’s too dangerous for you to go out by yourself without any form of protection.”

Haruka then turned around to face the male, leaning her back against the white wall while crossing her arms in a similar defiant manner to the man addressing her. “I went to school by myself for a while and survived. That is, before I was pulled out of it and away from my friends to another suburb. Again.”

This sentence was said evenly, as though she were commenting on the weather, but the words and the silent accusation still stung harshly in the chest of the techie. He knew that making Haruka drop out from school without a proper good bye to her friends was a little cruel, and he did feel really guilty about it, but he also knew – just as much as Haruka did – that it was necessary, not just for them but to also keep her few friends from being dragged into their mess.

With a sudden spark of irritation Igawa quickly and firmly retorted “You were under constant surveillance the whole time, and may I also remind you that you got caught up in some pretty serious yakuza business, and you were very close to being killed, and even almost had your friends and Kilo killed as well.”

Igawa regretted his choice of words the moment they left his mouth, seeing Haruka’s form flinch at the verbal attack, the girl’s formerly blank stare widening slightly and her lips pursing tightly with poorly concealed hurt.

Haruka’s head suddenly dropped as she turned her body towards the door and reached a hand out to grasp the door knob.

Igawa jumped to his feet, ready to advance if Haruka made another move to leave. “Tohyama Haruka, do not take a single step out of that door.” he warned in a voice lower than his usual cheery tone. To his relief, Haruka’s hand stopped as it touched the door knob, her body tense and rigid.

Juliet was now also on her feet, greatly disturbed and alarmed at the silent hostility buzzing between the two people on either side of the room. _What’s going on?_ She thought frantically, seeing the anger simmering in the usually bright man and the cold aloofness leeching out of the young girl. She was most surprised by Haruka’s frightening behaviour, unused to the girl being anything but happy and vivacious. However, Juliet could understand where Haruka’s frustrations may be coming from, as this house pretty much acted as a prison for the girl, never being allowed to leave without everyone knowing exactly where she was, what she was doing and who she was with.

With that in mind, Juliet carefully observed the girl once again as she addressed Igawa with slight hesitation; “I think you should let her go, Igawa, at least for a bit.”

Igawa’s head snapped around to stare at the anxious woman, eyes wide with shock and mouth slightly agape. Even Haruka’s frozen form seemed to turn ever so slightly in the woman’s direction, quietly listening to her words.

Before Juliet could get another word in to defend her argument, Igawa was suddenly growling out in a menacing tone, “What are you talking about Juliet? Of course she can’t go outside by herself, it’s way too dangerous!”

Juliet’s arched brows furrowed at the tone being used on her, and so retorted with more conviction. “I know it’s dangerous, but that doesn’t mean she can’t have some freedom. It’s not her fault she has that ridiculous bounty, nor is she responsible for everything that has happened to her. How long has it been since she had a really ‘normal’ day? A day that she didn’t have someone listening into her conversations, or being constantly watched by cameras? We have to let her breathe, Igawa. We can’t be the ones to imprison her.”

Igawa looked taken aback by the unexpectedly sympathetic rant from the usually care-free woman. Even Juliet herself was surprised at her rather protective speech, thinking with distaste how much she sounded like Sierra.

After a moment of silence, Igawa regains his composure and heatedly shot back “I’m not going to risk her life just so she can have a few hours away from us.” Juliet’s eye twitched, feeling her patience wearing thin.

“She isn’t cattle.”

“I never said she is.”

“Well you sure are treating her as such.”

Igawa slammed his fist onto the desk, face heated with rage “Jesus! What’s with you? Do you want her dead, is that it?!"

Juliet took a few determined steps towards the techie, ready to retort with venom when she stopped in her tracks at a sudden distraught screech from Haruka. “Shut up! Forget it! Forget I ever asked!” Haruka – she had been forgotten by the door during the heated argument – kicked off her shoes and ran up the stairs, disappearing behind a corner soon followed by a resounding slam that shook the house as a door was thrown shut.

The two adults were left staring at the spot at the top of the staircase where they last saw the distressed girl, stunned into silence in the aftermath of the argument. Igawa was the first to break the moment, heaving out a heavy sigh and collapsing into his desk chair where he covered his eyes with his left arm, hiding the shame written over his face.

Juliet, too, sat back down on the couch, but stayed sitting upright, unable to relax in the current situation. No words were spoken between the two as they both thought over the recent events, but the quiet was finally disturbed when the front door creaked open, revealing Mamoru in jeans and a thin t-shirt, hair slightly damp with sweat and his cold signature look masking his face. He stepped into the room after shutting the door behind him quietly, gently placing his cane on the dinner table.

“You heard, didn’t you?” Igawa mumbled, still not removing his arm from his face. Receiving only a grunt for confirmation, Igawa released a humourless chuckle, drained and breathless before continuing “Not a very good hobby, you know; listening in on people’s conversations.”

The tense silence returned as Mamoru took his time before answering while filling a glass with water in the kitchen. “I didn’t necessarily try to listen in. Anyone could have heard if you speak so loudly.” Draining the cool beverage, Mamoru wiped his hand across the back of his neck, face cringing at the tacky sweat. He murmured that he needed a shower before retreating to his room to collect a change of clothes.

As the click of his door closing resounded through the large room, Juliet said in a sombre tone “I do understand why you're so worried, I just think she needs a little space sometimes, that’s all.”

Igawa finally took his arm off his eyes, stretching it up to the ceiling to observe the intricate details of his tattoos. “I know, I just…” he took another deep breath, dropping his arms to dangle at his side, “I just don’t want to have to lose a sister again.”

No more words were exchanged between the two, or anyone in the household for a long while.

* * *

 

Juliet stood outside a shut door, hand raised in a knocking action, but not moving to actually knock on the door. It was well past midnight, the moon having already reached its peak, bidding farewell to the stars in the East, preparing to greet the lands on the other side of the planet, awaiting its beauty to cast its mysterious gleam over their lands.

Despite the serene calm outside, tension still ran strong though the house, the mood heavy and dense. After the argument earlier in the day - or the day before to be precise – the residents of the house kept pretty much to themselves, except for a single conversation between Igawa, Juliet and Mamoru less than an hour ago.

Haruka had stayed shut up in her room, neglecting to come out even to make dinner, so everyone ate whatever they could find in the kitchen. Dai had grumbled about having to eat cheap instant noodles, but an icy glare from Igawa had shut him up.

Now, standing outside Haruka’s door, Juliet was unsure of how to begin a conversation with the girl on the other side. If it were before, Juliet would have barged into the room with no grace, but after witnessing the drastic change in the girl’s personality, she felt uncertain if that was the right thing to do.

Sucking in a breath and steeling her nerves, Juliet rapped her knuckles against the hard door in three confident knocks and waited for an answer.

After a few moments Juliet caught the sound of rustling cloth and finally the padding of footsteps before the door knob turned slowly, a gap through the door revealing the room beyond it to be in total darkness. The light from the corridor shined through to fall on a tired face partially hidden behind the door.

The two females stayed quiet as Juliet took a moment to scrutinize the younger girl, noting her tired expression, dark bags under her eyes and pale complexion. Juliet couldn’t help the twinge of concern at her sickly features, wondering how she had failed to notice it before.

Haruka, who had kept her eyes on the ground until now looked up at the silent woman in slight annoyance and began to pull the door shut but Juliet’s hand shot up to block it, startling the girl. Juliet held onto the door firmly as she sighed heavily before facing the girl once more. “Haruka, look…” but she found herself lost for words, her mind still jumbled from the mess of an evening previous. “I understand how you feel, I really do. So does Igawa. He acted over the top, I know, but he was only like that because he was worried about you.” The expression on the girl’s face remained impassive, gazing quietly though the gap in the door. “We all worry about you. I get it, it’s unfair the way you live, but what other choice is there? There’s a bounty of five hundred million on your head, and you should know better than anyone else the risk you are in.”

The muscles in Haruka’s face tensed slightly, a dark cloud falling over her young features. Silvery eyes twitched a little in their sockets, as though she was watching something play out in front of her behind the woman. Juliet chanced a glance behind her to see if there was anything catching her attention and was confused at seeing only a blank wall. When Juliet looked back at Haruka, her eyes were once again fixed on the floor, her brows slightly furrowed in concentration.

Dismissing the odd moment between her one sided conversation Juliet continued, “Well, I talked to Igawa and Mamoru earlier. It took a while but I was able to convince them to try and give you a bit more privacy.” Haruka’s eyes widened at her words, but otherwise remained silent. “They agreed for us to go out together tomorrow, if you like?”

For the first time in the ‘conversation’ Haruka replied quietly “Where to?”

Relieved at finally being spoken to, Juliet continued a little more eagerly. “Anywhere you want. I was thinking we might go to that big shopping centre in town. You know, the one with those annoying mascots parading around all the time?” The corners of Haruka’s mouth curled up into a small smile, relieving Juliet even more. “Especially since spring is coming, we need to re-stock on our wardrobe, right? A girl can’t live without a good supply of clothes.”

Haruka let out a breathy chuckle, something that Juliet realised with a sense of dread that she hadn’t seen a lot of these days.

“Yeah, that sounds good.” Haruka says, the soft smile still gracing her lips. “Thank you.” She added after a small pause. This time it was Juliet whose eyes widened at the sincerity in those two words.

Without really knowing why, Juliet reached a hand though the open door and placed it on the girl’s soft blonde head, lightly stroking the hair with her thumb. Haruka looked surprised at the affectionate act, but closed her eyes and leaned into the offered hand, appreciating the offered warmth.

After a few moments of comfortable silence, Juliet let her hand drop to her side and she swivelled on her heel, whispering a barely audible ‘good night’ over her shoulder before walking down the corridor on silent feet.

When she finally made her way into her room she let her body collapse onto the mattress with a heavy thud, curling her body up into a tight ball. She felt completely drained even though she did nothing to exhort herself that day, and lay awake in the quiet room contemplating the events of the last few hours. Something in Haruka’s face didn’t settle right with her, churning her gut with worry and a sense of foreboding.

Unable to pin point what it was, Juliet closed her eyes tiredly and let herself fall into the clutches of her slumber, entering a dream of angry faces and the never ending echoes of a child’s lonely sobs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love big bro Igawa


	3. Normalcy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls spend their day together peacefully, while the men uncover some alarming clues which may lead to something more...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here is a long-ish chapter! I hope you enjoy!

The loud chatter of hundreds of people echoed though the large food court, blending together to form a constant ringing of talk. Groups of adolescents huddled together over their phones, children screamed in delight at being rewarded with a treat or distraught at being denied one, busy mothers briskly swerved through the crowd in a hurry to get their weekly shopping over with.

Nestled in a booth with a pile of designer shopping bags on both sides of them sat Juliet and Haruka with takeout wrappers spread out across the once clear table top between them. The older of the two females took notice of a group of passing young males eyeballing her curvy figure and grinned around the fry in her mouth. Sending a suggestive wink to a particularly good looking one in the group, she gleefully relished in the light blush that bloomed across the man's cheeks.

A noise between a whine and a chuckle took her attention off the now receding group of men to the girl in front of her who was looking at her with a skeptical look. "What?" Juliet asked bluntly as she pushed another warm fry into her mouth.

Haruka shook her head lightly with another chuckle as she leaned over her salad bowl keeping her eyes on the older woman. "Nothing." she replied lightly, but surrendered as she was lightly kicked in the shin under the table. "Fine, fine. It's just that; I swear that everywhere we went today every male that got anywhere near you was either drooling or tripping over themselves."

Juliet smiled triumphantly at the compliment, fully aware of her own allure and the effect she had on helpless men. "Story of my life." she said in mock exasperation, but laughed along with the girl sitting across from her.

They had left home for their outing sometime after breakfast once Juliet had shaken off Igawa's pestering questions of 'Are you sure you don't want back up?' or 'Can you at least have a tracker?' or even the 'If you give me some time I can hack into their CCTV cameras..?' which earned him an icy threat from Juliet to not even consider doing such a thing. Still, Juliet couldn't help suspiciously glaring up at every surveillance camera she saw which seemed to be conveniently pointed in their direction.

The duo visited almost every fashion store in the entire shopping centre, Juliet practically dragging the teen around by the arm until both of their hands were too full with purchased shopping bags. Haruka learned early on that there was no use in trying to lecture the older woman on the difference between 'need' and 'want', her first attempt at trying to restrict the woman resulting in double the purchases in what was probably Juliet's way of proving something, though Haruka had no idea what.

Swallowing the last mouthful of her high-calorie burger, Juliet took a large sip from her bottle of coke, noticing the lack of progress Haruka had made with her own meal. "Don't like the food?" she inquired between sips of her drink. Haruka hummed in response, pushing around the Cesar salad with a plastic fork in its flimsy container.

"No, just not really hungry I guess." she said, dropping the fork on the table to take a sip from her bottle of water. As Haruka replaced her drink on the table, she crossed her arms accusingly to pointedly glare at her team member. "How can you eat all that junk and still stay so slim?" Her eyebrows were lightly furrowed but the smile tugging at her lips betrayed her annoyed tone.

Flipping a few strands of her velvety black hair over her shoulder, Juliet leaned back with a knowing smirk twisting her lips "What, trying to impress someone?"The rosy blush that rapidly spread across the girl's cheeks drove Juliet into a fit of hysterical laughter, making Haruka's face heat up even more. Clutching desperately at her clenching stomach, Juliet pulled herself up vertically and tried to compose herself, though she knew she was doing a poor job. "Please don't tell me you're trying to look good for a blind guy?" Juliet's voice was still shaking with contained laughter, but once again lost her composure at the childish pout on Haruk's face. Despite herself, Juliet had to admit that Haruka looked adorable.

Purely on impulse, Juliet leaned over the table and tugged each of the teen’s blushing cheeks, causing said teen’s eyes to bulge in surprised confusion. Juliet watched fondly as Haruka rubbed at her now lightly stinging cheeks, her face still holding a questioning look. “What was that for?”

“What? Isn’t that what adults do to whining kids?”

Haruka’s eyebrows furrowed at first, but her frown was soon replaced with a teasing grin. “Oh, so are you admitting to being old? Because only the elderly do that to their grandchildren.”

Juliet threw her head back and groaned, which in turn made Haruka laugh heartedly.

The woman took another sip from her soft drink, and leaned across the table right into Haruka’s personal space, her straight nose almost touching the girls. “Now, going back to more pressing matters. Haruka…” Juliet trailed off, her smile no longer taunting but only tender and cheeky, “are you really not going to date anyone other than Mamoru?” Before Haruka could splutter an embarrassed answer, Juliet pressed on. “I mean, you’re fourteen now, right? Almost fifteen. You should be enjoying youth, playing around with all the guys you can catch; not waiting submissively for a middle-aged man who may or may not ever reciprocate your feelings. I mean, look at all the people in this food court alone! There are so many good looking high schoolers like yourself; all potential partners. Are you really sure you don’t want to experience what it’s like to date, get heartbroken, then have it mended again by someone else? I mean sure, it hurts, but they’re still experiences that your current position denies you from having.”

Haruka now gazed at Juliet silently, still blushing but taking what was asked of her seriously. With a deep inhale, she answered. “I am prepared to wait for Mamoru. Even if he doesn’t have any intention of return my feelings, I’ll still wait.” Sensing what Juliet was going to say next, she continued. “I know it should be important for me to make as many fond memories as possible; to try and be as normal as I can, when I can. But honestly, I don’t think I would be able to live so ignorantly anymore, even if I tried.” Haruka took a long sip of her water, her eyes lightly glazed as she thought quietly to herself. “And anyway,” Haruka said, lifting her head back up to stare determinedly into the dark eyes of her fellow team member, “knowing who he is, what he is to me now and what he will be, I don’t want to be with anyone else.”

Juliet was startled by the sheer conviction her voice held, and the unwavering silvery eyes that spoke of too many untold horrors, of a mature wisdom too heavy for a child her age to carry.

“Also,” Haruka said bashfully “Mamoru isn’t middle aged. He’s still in his thirties.”

Juliet laughed again at this, happy when she heard the tinkling chuckles of Haruka too.

After coming down from their joyous laughter, Juliet released a content sigh, indulging in the moment of pure normality. Judging by the comfortable silence that followed, Juliet guessed that Haruka must also be enjoying their rare peaceful and non-violent day together.

“Well, I’ve just about had enough grease to last me a few days, so I guess we should get going” Juliet said as she pulled herself up from the booth and starts to gather her bundle of shopping. Haruka nodded in agreement, pushing her unfinished lunch away from her to collect her share of bags.

As Haruka moved to exit the crowded food court, Juliet caught the back of her collar, effectively yanking Haruka to a rough stop. Coughing at suddenly being denied air, Haruka looked around to see with dread the mischievous glint sparkling in the older woman’s eye. “I said I had enough of grease, not sugar.” With another tug at the teen’s collar, Juliet all but pounced towards the ice-cream store on the other side of the hall, dragging a gaping Haruka close behind.

* * *

 

With both females out of the house, the remaining three occupants keep mostly to themselves. Dai had locked himself in the small gym most of the morning, occasionally visiting the kitchen to restock on snacks before retreating to whatever he was doing in there by himself. After seeing Juliet and Haruka off in the morning silently, Mamoru also retreated into his room to indulge in a few more hours of peaceful sleep before going outside for his daily training. As for Igawa, he went about with his routine of checking up on their gear and clattering away on his keyboard for hours on end, though he noticed with mild irritation his unproductiveness as his mind continued to be clouded by thoughts of the previous evening.

Under the warm gaze of the sun, Mamoru finally finished his routine training of complicated moves specially designed to only leave the enemy immobile, rather than dead. With a heavy exhale the man pushed his dark sunglasses further up the bridge of his nose and focused on levelling his breathing, revelling in the satisfying burn of his muscles after a straining session of training.

Mamoru’s dark eyebrows scrunch together as his sharpened hearing caught a barely audible rustle a few meters diagonally behind him. Supressing a sigh of exasperation, the swordsman lifted his sword to vaguely inspect the refined edge of his blade, not letting his attention stray from the obvious presence lurking behind him. The moment the sword was sheathed back into its cane, with a triumphant roar Dai jumped out from behind Mamoru with a powerful swing of his right arm aimed at his target’s head.

This time sighing out loud at the blatantly obvious and overdone choice of attacking, Mamoru swiftly swung the cane over his shoulder with practised ease into the directory of Dai’s arm, successfully guiding the swing past his head, and by hooking his leg around Dai’s ankle, sent his attacker tumbling over into a row of trashcans lined up along the concrete wall bordering the yard.

Bringing the cane back onto the ground, Mamoru gazed disapprovingly at the digital image of Dai, who was struggling to pull his body out of the scattered trash, accompanied by low grunts of pain. “I purposefully give you an advantage, and yet you can’t even decently aim a single punch at me.” Dai glared up the blind man but remained silent, evidently waiting for the man to continue. “Your position of hiding was poorly chosen, as you don’t have an easy access to your target. You took too long with delivering the punch as well. You were too focused on making the punch powerful that you disregarded the amount of time it takes to swing your arm from that distance. Your style of attacking is far too predictable as well. On a better note, you were more successful at concealing your presence while I was distracted; it took longer for me to notice. However…” the tone of his voice dropped to one of mockery “was the battle cry really necessary?”

While Dai darkly muttered curses under his breath, Mamoru looked behind the biker at the mess from the over turned bins. “Make sure you pick up all the garbage before you go back inside. Haruka doesn’t need to clean up after your carnage.”

All the while grumbling, Dai began by turning the bins back up right and moved to carelessly toss the un-spilled plastic bags into the cheap containers.

Just as Mamoru was about to retreat back into the house for a well-deserved nap, a disturbingly familiar scent stopped him in his steps with a sense of dread coiling in his gut. Sharply turning back on his heels, he made his way towards Dai to inspect the trash littering the surroundings. All he could see projected through his glasses were random shapes of different sizes, but nothing out of the ordinary. But something was there, he knew. The smell from before was far stronger, evidently closer to him. Abandoning the task of spotting what he was searching for, he tilted his head back and inhaled deeply.

Dai froze in his cleaning, staring up at the man incredulously with hints of disgust pulling at his expression. “Dude, the hell are you sniffing the trash for?”

Mamoru sneered at the question, but decided to answer him anyway. “I smell blood.”

Dai’s eyes narrowed at the statement, face contorting into a look of confusion until he, too, lightly smelled the air around him. After a moment of silence as he processed the different displeasing smells coming from the trash, his eyes bulged slightly as he caught the heavy scent he had begun to recognize more than he may have wanted after working with the network for the last few months. “Well shit.”

Using his cane, Mamoru began pushing the scattered junk around the ground, searching for the source of the smell. “Dai, you look too. I can hardly recognize anything with these glasses.” This time without complaint, Dai began shuffling around the rubbish, eyes darting around searching for anything remotely out of place.

A few minutes ticked away, both men losing their patience as they were unable to find the source of their stress. No longer caring for the added mess, Dai tore open a garbage bag, spilling the contents out onto the dirt.

The moment the plastic tore, a wave of the pungent smell attacked the biker’s nostrils, causing him to stagger backwards and hold a hand over his nose and mouth to suppress gagging. Mamoru quickly knelt next to the torn bag, seemingly too focused on his task to care of the foul smell. Digging his hands in the junk, he pulled objects out, turned them over to inspect each of them, until finally he pulled out a fistful of strips of cloth, the heavy smell coming from it telling him he had found what he was looking for. The fabric was rough on the pads of his fingers, and running it through his hand, he found areas where it had set to become hard and stiff. Despite his lack of sight, Mamoru had no doubt that what he had in his hands were rolls of bandages, soaked with dried blood. It wasn’t a strange occurrence for there to be bloodied bandages in a house with a group of secret criminals fighting crime in the underworld living in it, but something was odd in this particular situation. Their bins were last emptied less than a week ago, so the bandages must have been used within a few days, and Mamoru was sure that they hadn’t had any missions for at least a fortnight, certainly nothing which could cause this kind of injuries. Moreover, each member made sure to dispose of their bloody waste products extremely carefully, so as to not leave any evidence that could lead to their cover being blown. So why were these bandages disposed of so causally, and in a way that the other members wouldn’t notice? But the question buzzing through the swordsman’s head was “whose blood was it?”

Finally regaining his composure, Dai examined the fabric in Mamoru’s grasp closely. The bandages were the same as those he and Mamoru would use when they attained injuries during their missions. The blood had long turned a blotchy brown, completely soaked though in some places, only lightly smudged in others.

His examining was interrupted when Mamoru firmly spoke to him from where he knelt on the ground. “Look through the bag. Tell me if you can identify what room this trash came from.” With only a moment’s hesitation, Dai did as he was told, pulling out different objects and monotonously stating what they were.

“There’s a soap wrapper, empty toilet rolls, empty shampoo bottle,” he continued for a while, until finally concluding “well, it’s pretty obvious it’s from the bathroom.” Mamoru grunted his agreement, but otherwise stayed silent as he continued his musings.

With a heavy sigh, Mamoru finally pulled himself back into a standing position, letting the bandages gracefully flutter to the ground where it piled at his feet. “Put everything back as they were. I don’t want to see a single piece of trash left in the yard by night.”

Dai looked incredulously at the retreating form of Mamoru before calling out “Well what do we do about this?” addressing the bloodied bandages with a vague wave on his arm.

Once again Mamoru stopped in his tracks, turning his head so his unseeing eyes turned over his shoulder to Dai “Nothing. We do nothing.”

Eyes flaring with irritation at the casual tone being used on him, Dai said “The hell do you mean, ‘nothing’?”

“It means exactly what I said. We do nothing, and we say nothing. We act like you never made a fool of yourself and took a dive into the garbage, and so we never saw anything strange.” Seeing that Dai was about to argue back, Mamoru quickly continued in a firmer tone. “At the moment we are limited with what we can do. We don’t know enough of the situation to make any accurate judgements. Telling Igawa would only unnecessarily worry him. So for now, we wait. We wait to see if anything happens. It may just be that someone accidentally cut themselves in the bathroom and didn’t think it was worth informing everyone about it, so they dealt with it and now it’s all over. If it was anything serious, we should already know. So for now, we do nothing.”

Seeing Dai looking down, apparently considering his argument, Mamoru began to move back towards the house when Dai’s voice reached him again, this time much weaker, as though he was talking to himself. “Maybe it has something to do with Haruka. You know, with what happened yesterday and all.”

Mamoru said nothing for a few painful moments, and just before he closed the door behind him did he finally call over his shoulder “Clean up the mess, Dai.”


	4. Suspicion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls return from their day out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! This chapter is pretty short, but it's more of a filler leading up to the next chapter, so it is necessary... I think. Enjoy!

With a firm click, the door locked behind Haruka, simultaneously marking the end to her and Juliet’s exhausting shopping trip. Dragging her tired arms still loaded with glamorous shopping bags, the blonde made her way to the modern ‘L’ shaped couch to join the older female collapsed on the comfortable seat. Letting the bags slip from her arms, Haruka heavily slumped onto the firm cushions with a tired exhale of breath.

“I think I’ve killed my legs.” Juliet mumbled from her position splayed across the comforter, face buried in the white fabric. Haruka simply grunted in affirmation, far too tired to waste her breath with words. “But,” Juliet continued, turning her head to flash a small smile at the girl “definitely worth it.”

A breathy chuckle leaved Haruka’s mouth as her lips stretched to form a weak smile. “Yeah, it was.” She directed her silvery eyes over to the woman adjacent to her, the smile becoming meaningful and held a tone of sincere appreciation. “Thank you.”

Before Juliet was able to form a sassy remark, the door across the room from them opened with a whine of its hinges and Igawa, clad in his signature baggy jeans and band tee-shirt entered, balancing a bulky laptop in his hands. “Welcome back you two.” He said pleasantly, making his way over to his cluttered desk. Seeing the high pile of shopping bags dropped on the floor, he raised an eyebrow at the duo but simply shook his head and made himself comfortable in in his sleek black desk chair.

“So, how many stores lost all of their stock this time?” He questioned jokingly, but after taking another look at their day’s purchases, meekly wondered if any actually did.

“Oh please, we didn’t buy that much.” Juliet huffed as she heaved her body upright, finding her prior position rather awkward to hold a conversation in. “Far less than what I wanted to buy, anyway. Haruka kept stopping me from buying more things.” She grumbled, receiving a tinkling laugh from the teen and a badly suppressed chuckle from the techie.

“It’s quite late, so I presume all of you already had some dinner?” Haruka inquired after craning her neck to check the digital clock hung on the far wall displaying 8:24.

“Yeah, we all rummaged around in the kitchen and found something to eat.” Igawa idly replied just as a rapid storm of tapping keys and clicks started up from his position behind multiple computer monitors. “Sorry, do you want anything? I think there may still be some instant noodles in the pantry – if Dai hasn’t eaten them all, that is.”

At this both females shake their heads, still full from their lunch and numerous snacking throughout the day. Haruka especially had to suppress gagging at the thought of any more food, although she was sure Juliet would still somehow be able to stuff another meal into her body if she wanted to.

Haruka hummed quietly, but when she heard the sound of a door swinging open she turned to face the new arrival and greeted him with a warm smile. “We’re back, Mamoru-san.” Mamoru nodded silently once as he walked up to the couch and stopped behind the girl, unseeing eyes staring down at the digital form in front of him.

As the silence in the room stretched, an uncomfortable air made the room feel stuffy to the occupants. The machinegun-like ratting of keys slowed down in hesitation; Juliet tensed at the sudden ominous feeling; Haruka fidgeted where she sat unsure of what to do, and Mamoru’s face remained hard and grim, lips pressed into a firm line as he continued staring intimidatingly at the girl, either oblivious to or uncaring of the thickening atmosphere his brooding was causing. Both Igawa and Juliet were weary of experiencing a repeat from the previous evening, and were on edge as they waited for whatever lay ahead.

Everyone sighed in relief when the silence was broken as Mamoru asked indifferently “How was your day?”

The evening progressed uneventfully, with Haruka energetically retelling the events of the day and Juliet occasionally butting in to defend her needs to buy anything that strike her fancy. “You never know when will be the next time you have a day off to go shopping. And anyway, I have a legitimate reason for needing a wide range of clothing.” She promptly received two pairs of incredulous stares, so continued with a roll of her eyes. “I specialize in infiltration and investigation, so I need to be able to have a variety of looks as disguises. I can’t keep hitting targets in the same clothes. That’s pretty much broadcasting to the entire underworld ‘Hey, this is what I look like, watch out for me babe!’ And there is no way you are going to catch me wearing a moustache with spectacles.” Her frustrated rant was quickly followed by a burst of laughter from the two youngest occupants of the room, both trying desperately to suppress their giggles conjured up by the image of Juliet in a trench coat with a thick black moustache and equally creepy glasses adorning her tanned face. Even Mamoru lightly chuckled at the thought.

The stifling atmosphere was completely forgotten, replaced with a light and merry air. Igawa and Haruka finally calmed down from the uncontrollable laughter, only to be met with a childish pout from Juliet and Dai’s confused face peeking out from behind the same door Mamoru had exited from to inspect what was the cause of the thunderous laughter.

Igawa began to further question the woman’s need of clothing when a harsh beeping rang out from his abandoned laptop, causing every head – including Dai’s – to whip around in the direction of the noise. Igawa swivelled around in his seat, scrolling down the screen to inspect the document that has popped up.

When the ringing was finally put to an end with a few haste clicks, the room was left in a strained silence, all waiting in anticipation of what Igawa was going to tell them – though they all had a good idea as to what it was.

There was no surprise when Igawa finally spoke in a monotone voice, drained of all mirth;

“We have a new mission.”


	5. Commence Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of the mission

A few days had passed since the mission notice arrived through the network, and the preparations had been made. All that remained for them to do was carry out their plan, and hope that nothing unexpected occurred.

The Network had been tipped off about a powerful drug ring that was circulating around the outskirts of Tokyo, and with the help of a certain precognitive, was able to pin point a date and time for a major transaction, which would involve some big shots in the drug trade. It was very rare for such profound members of gangs to meet so openly and without an abundance of security, but it was apparent that in their power they had grown arrogant and careless; traits which would eventually get them killed in their profession either way.

So a day before the mission, the atmosphere in the house was tense, each member of team Blade keeping to themselves to prepare.

Dai had been pleased when he was told that he would be playing the lead role in the mission, which had only served to sour Juliet’s mood. They had quarrelled over Dai’s eagerness to fight, but they were interrupted when Haruka had announced dinner.

After the satisfying meal, they all retreated to separate rooms in the house. Igawa was routinely checking up on local news reports, slightly perturbed by the reoccurring drug incidents when a weak whine of a door opening was heard, and he glanced behind him to see Haruka descending the stairs. She was dressed in dark leggings and a pale blue hoodie with a wind design printed on the back. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, which showed off her slender neck elegantly. Despite her attire being so casual, she still looked stunning with a little bit of mascara darkening her long lashes. He remembered when she had first started wearing light makeup less than a year ago, and the triumphant cry of ‘finally!’ Juliet had called out, which had caused Haruka to blush darkly in embarrassment. Ever since then, the tan woman had been introducing the blonde to her endless supply of cosmetic products, and sometimes when she was utterly bored, would drag Haruka away from studying to doll her up in thick makeup and extravagant clothes. Haruka always complained that she wasn’t Juliet’s Barbie doll, but Juliet always laughed it off and argued back that Haruka enjoyed it. This probably was true, if the small smiles Haruka held between her eye rolls and complaints were to go by. It was always an endearing sight, the two of them acting like close sisters.

Haruka eventually walked across the room to stand beside Igawa, leaning on his desk to observe the different news sites displayed on the multiple computer monitors. The gentle hum of the machines was comforting to Igawa, but would probably drive most other people mad if they were to listen to it almost endlessly as he did.

“Igawa-san, can I go outside for a while?” Haruka’s voice was gentle and collected, sounding more like a passing comment than an enquiry. It looked as though she was not really expecting the man to give his consent.

“…Where to?” Igawa inquired, trying to extract as much information from her as possible.

“Nowhere in particular. Just for a walk.” She said with a shrug of her shoulder, still not bringing her eyes up to meet the techie’s.

Igawa was hesitant about letting her out of the safety of the house, but had refrained from protesting. Despite it being so dark already, he was trying to be more flexible with the girl ever since their last argument. “Alright, but I want you back by eight. If you break curfew, your rights will be revoked.” Igawa added the last part jokingly, trying to erase the lingering tenseness that appeared whenever a similar topic was brought up.

“Back by ten.” Haruka challenged.

“Eight thirty.”

“Nine.”

Igawa contemplated it for a few seconds before giving in. “Alright, be back by nine. Any later and I won’t hesitate to attach trackers onto every piece of clothing you own.”

Haruka had laughed happily, pushing herself off the desk to prepare for her ‘walk’. However, Igawa could not fail to notice a slight waver in her laugh, indicating her merriment being forced, or at least exaggerated. At this realisation he turned slightly to his side so he could watch her from the corners of his narrow eyes. Under his scrutiny, the slight jitteriness and strained expression was prominent in the teen. Her attempt to conceal it was just as obvious, if not more so.

While Igawa was analysing her odd behaviour, Haruka had already prepared herself and made her way to the front entrance.

“Haruka.” He called out to her, unsure of what he should say when she turned to face him questioningly. “Well, do you… are you alright?”

Haruka looked slightly taken back by the directness of his final question, looking blankly back at the techie. Finally she let out a deep sigh, lightly shaking her head. The brightness from earlier had dimmed, and she gave off a melancholic air.

Slightly alarmed at her confession Igawa stood up and strode up to her, bending his knees so they were eyelevel. “You wanna talk about it?” He furrowed his brow further when she shook her head again. “Is it about the mission tomorrow?” At this he received a hesitant nod.

“I just…” Haruka broke off, her eyes drifting in the detached way Igawa had noticed were getting more and more frequent. With another long sigh, she rubbed at the sleeves of her hoodie. “I just need to clear my head a little bit. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

With that, Haruka left.

* * *

 

Mamoru walked along the side of a narrow road, the collar of his leather jacket turned up to protect him from the bitter night wind. Every rhythmic step he took was accompanied by a gentle tap of his cane against the concrete ground. He guessed that he was probably about ten minutes away from his destination, giving him plenty of time to think over their plan.

Igawa and Juliet were waiting in their truck as support, the man with their gadgets and Juliet as backup in case their plan didn’t go accordingly. Dai was stationed near the scene where the exchange was to take place, no doubt restless with anticipation. Haruka had requested that she stay back for this mission, given that there really was no use for her to go as well; she would just get in the way. Which wasn’t entirely true, as her precognitive ability had saved them numerous times. However, they accepted and she had waved them off from the driveway of their shared home.

The plan was simple but effective. Essentially, when the criminals had gathered for the transaction, Igawa would blow the lights and during the confusion Dai would enter the vicinity, and using the new cord attachment on Brucephalus would round up the criminals in one clean swoop while Mamoru simultaneously damaged the wheels of their cars so they could not escape. It was in their favour that the dealers had chosen a location away from civilians, and secluded enough for them to make noise without alerting anyone instantly.

Mamoru had been impressed by the plan when Haruka had first proposed it, as it made their job relatively simple. He knew, however, that they could not be overconfident. When he had brought this up with the group, he felt an irritated glare from Juliet, but an understanding nod from Haruka. “I know, Mamoru-san.” She had said gravely.

Mamoru was a little concerned about Haruka. He was sure that he was not the only one who had picked up on her odd behaviours, but none of them had brought it up. There was also the incident with the bloodied bandages. As he and Dai had agreed, they didn’t tell anyone else in the team. At the time he had been sure that was the correct decision, but now he was not so sure. He loathed being insecure, but as the faint scent of blood seemed to linger within the walls of the house, lying in wake under the staircase, around every corner, behind every door; he was alarmed. Even so, he decided to wait. If possible, he wanted to find out more about it before he brought it to light.

“You’ll be arriving at the scene in under a hundred meters, Mamoru.” Igawa’s static voice bled through his glasses into his ears. The swordsman squared his shoulders back, his eyes scanning the area. The concentration of buildings had slowly decreased, until all that remained were a few factories littered around the concrete jungle, hidden behind tangles of pipes and a dark canopy of clouds. On his right, he was approaching what he knew to be an abandoned car manufacturing factory. It used to be a prosperous business, but eventually succumbed to bankruptcy and was shut down. So it was no surprise when he came into view of the surrounding area of the factory, hundreds of old cars, many that were incomplete were scattered across the dirt ground like an overturned jar of jelly beans. Many were subjected to vandalism or stripped of valuable parts, while very few remained in reasonable condition.

Mamoru entered the yard, his glasses taking in every detail of use to him. In the middle of the cars was a large clearing, void of any vehicles. From what he gathered, that was be where the deal would be made. With a final look over the area, Mamoru walked over to an old van badly scratched with the windshield broken and one headlight missing, giving the impression that it was winking. The blind man easily entered the vehicle, crouching down against the front seat where he had a clear view of the entrance to the yard, as well as an easy route to the clearing. He shuffled a bit in his position to get a bit more comfortable. “Igawa, how long until they get here?”

The sound of a thoughtful hum made its way through the speaker. “They should probably be there in less than ten minutes, I would say. Dai, are you in position?” There was a brief buzz as another line connected with their conversation.

“Yeah.” came the bikie’s distracted response.

“Come on, man. Don’t sound so bored.” Igawa said exasperatedly, Juliet’s tinkling laugh seeping through as well. Dai’s frustrated grumble was also heard, but they all went silent when Igawa suddenly snapped “They’re here.”

Mamoru looked up to the shattered window where he could just make out the outline of a car roll into the yard, the occasional clank from it running over a piece of metal indicating it was getting closer. Although Mamoru could not make out any details of the model, he could tell that it was expensive, and was aimed more to show off than for efficiency. Mamoru internally scoffed at how fitting the vehicle was to its owners.

When the car finally came to a stop in the clearing, a group of four men climbed out, one of them carrying a briefcase. “Can they get anymore un original?” He heard Dai grumble, to which Mamoru had to agree. From the side closer to the entrance, he could see the outline of the motorbike and its rider, along with a tab labelled with his name floating above it. “I mean seriously, did they decide to cosplay as the typical ‘mafia boss’ from some low-budget movie?” Dai furiously muttered, but after being told to shut up by an annoyed Juliet, he went quiet.

The four men were all decently built, with one of them looking like a towering pile of muscle. Two of them wore suits, while the others wore what looked like jeans and a jacket, through Mamoru couldn’t be certain.

While they were waiting, Mamoru wondered impatiently whether he should just take out this group first and then ambush the second group when they came, but chose against it. He respected Haruka’s plan, and didn’t want to sabotage it to quench his impatience.

Suddenly he heard the grumble of another motor approaching, and tensed as a van passed the entrance and parked beside the first vehicle. Six men piled out, all of them wearing descent attire. It was clear in this situation who held the superior status.

One from each group began conversing in hushed tones, while the remaining members stared each other down. The macho from the first group even kept cracking either his neck of his knuckles.

“Remember, only attack when they’ve made the deal. Their guard will be lowest then. Dai, you know what to do.” Mamoru whispered discreetly, his thumb finding the clasp that kept his sword sheathed.

After he got a grunt as affirmation from Dai, Mamoru placed both hands in position to draw the blade. He watched attentively as the two men brought forth a briefcase each. He furrowed his brow as they moved closer to each other, holding his breath as he tensed his muscles to pounce. Just as the mafia men clasped the handle of the other bags and let go of their own, Mamoru said harshly into the still night air, “Now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me so long to come up with a reasonable plan for the mission. I'm still not fully satisfied with it, but it'll do...


	6. Intervention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mission doesn't go according to plan. More mysteries arise

In a single moment, many things occurred simultaneously in a flash of confusion and destruction. Firstly the distant streetlights that illuminated the area in a faint glow blew out with a vibrant flicker. Within a few seconds the entire field was blanketed in deep darkness, robbing the drug dealers of their precious sight. Unfortunately for them, they barely had time to raise their voices in alarm before a distant noise split the cool air, echoing hauntingly through every one of them.

Astride his silent black steed, Dai swerved between the vehicles and surrounded the group of men, smirking smugly at their obliviousness. He urged the bike to run circles around the men clearly depicted on the screen of his helmet, the only notice they had of his presence being the current of air that pushed around them caused by his rapid circling. It was utterly hilarious how they were unable to hear him, even at this distance. He really had to thank Igawa for his ingenious additions to Brucephalus.

The dealers seemed to recognize that something more than a power outage was occurring, as they all brandished pistols from their jackets, turning in their positions to try and locate the imminent threat. Dai scoffed at the fact that the macho looked the most frightened.

With a twist of his wrist, the biker zoomed faster, leaving shadowy marks on the ground. “Igawa, are we ready?” He said happily, already knowing the answer. He smirked when he heard the exasperated confirmation from the techie, and with a confident jerk, skidded across the earth so he was facing a sturdy truck at the edge of the clearing, and with a firm press of a button at the tip of the handle bars, shot out a metal spike that whizzed through the air, piercing the side of the truck where it was embedded deep into its foundation. From the spike to Brucephalus, a coil of metallic rope stretched sturdily, and when it tugged against the bike, Dai spun his vehicle to he travelled backwards, the wheels altering direction instantaneously so he swiftly continued to spin around the criminals. When the metal rope encircled the dealers, it slammed into their torsos, pinning them between their two vehicles. They cried out in both fear and pain, the sound of a few ribs snapping being barely heard over their agonized voices.

Dai continued on his rounds, with every cycle another layer of rope binding all of them together. The biker whooped victoriously when he shot out another metal hook that pierced the dealer’s van, so the rope was secured.

As soon as he flung the bike around ninety degrees, he skidded to a stop, all the while never making any more noise than if he were having a calm conversation, and Mamoru jumped out of the van now that the danger of being run over was gone, and swiftly approached the strapped vehicles with a few long strides and drew the gleaming blade of his sword, and in two smooth motions cut through the metal and rubber, severing the lower halves of the cars.

There were a few moments where nothing moved, but then the weight of the vehicles made their damaged wheels give way and they crumbled in a pile of screeching metal and flying sparks.

Mamoru stood beside the wreckage of the vehicles, cringing at the heady scent of the motors and the dust cloud that flew up from the fall. Some of the criminals were snivelling and groaning in pain, while some of them appeared as though they had yet to comprehend what had just taken place.

Mamoru’s brow twitched in annoyance when he heard the biker behind him whistle through his glasses, the high noise irritating his heightened hearing. “Well,” Dai began, his narrow eyes taking in the sight before him. “That went fast.”

“No shit.” Mamoru grumbled, well aware of where this conversation was going.

“Man, I wish they could have had more bite to them. This was way too easy.” This time Dai said it louder, no doubt with the intention of the criminals to hear. However, the increase in volume only served to irritate the swordsman further as he sheathed his sword in his cane.

“Shut up, Dai. You shouldn’t have expected much from these bastards from the beginning anyway. You need to work on your assessment of your opponents.” He reprimanded, beginning to walk towards the entrance. “Igawa, have you called the cops?”

“Yup. They’ll be there in about ten or fifteen minutes.”

Mamoru huffed in response, irritated at the Tokyo police force’s unfortunate efficiency. Just as he was about to make a snide comment about either the criminals or the police, he heard a pained grunt and a clatter of heavy metal. Mamoru spun in place in time to see one of the criminals – one of the suited men from the second group – clamber out from the tangle of rope and destroyed car pieces to sprint away from both him and Dai, probably in the hopes to climb over the chicken wire fence that closed off the yard.

Mamoru cursed colourfully as he dashed in pursuit of the escapee, calling out to his accomplice “You stay here and guard the rest! I’ll take him out!”

The criminal was surprisingly agile, easily leaping over vehicles and swerving in between obstacles. Although Mamoru had studied the area prior to the mission, the gap in familiarity of the area was apparent in the way the swordsman had to focus most of his attention on his path so as to not fall or get lost in the array of cars. Mamoru looked up to see with alarm that the criminal had created a significant distance between them, and he swore again at the sight of the man jumping onto the fence, easily climbing up to the top. Just before he dropped down, he turned his torso back to face his pursuer and flipped him off tauntingly. With a final heave, the man disappeared from Mamoru’s sight.

“Mamoru! He’s getting away!” Igawa called through the speaker, his urgency obvious in the tone of his voice.

“I know that!” Mamoru hollered back, picking up on Juliet’s voice notifying the techie that she was going out for support. Mamoru hooked his fingers between the wired fence, hoisting himself up. He easily drew himself up and over, nimbly landing and taking off after the criminal.

He rounded the side of another abandoned factory, following the directions that popped up at the sides of his vision, complimentary of Igawa. He soon found himself running through narrow alleyways and the complex architecture of the factory. As he travelled deeper and deeper into the building, a static buzz started tickling his ears, most likely due to the poor reception he was receiving from their truck. With a frustrated grumble at how the noise made him disorientated and distracted, he uttered “mute,” bringing an abrupt end to his communication with the team.

Now there were no directions leading him in the right way, so all he had to go on was his intuition. However, he noticed that it seemed as through his path had been cleared for him, any excess options in paths either blocked by random objects or taped off. However he did not have much time to accommodate his confusion as he faintly caught the vibrations echoing not too far in front of him. It seemed he was on the right path after all.

But then he realized that the footsteps were not the only sound he could make out. There was also an unnatural, ringing noise in the distance. By the time he had managed to label it as sirens, he had burst through an ajar door into what appeared to be a loading garage.

Mamoru was not surprised to see the criminal panting heavily on the ground, but he was surprised at the three police cars blocking off the massive open garage door, or the numerous policemen holding their guns up at the suited man being held down by two officers, one of them snapping on a pair of handcuffs.

Instinctively Mamoru ducked behind a desk so he would not be seen by them, his heart pounding not only from the run but also from shock. He had not been expecting that. He focused on regulating his breathing, while simultaneously trying to work out what was happening. Although Igawa had said he had called the cops, why would he direct them there? He knew Igawa was not one to make mistakes like that, especially when it came to missions. But why else could the police be gathered at such an insignificant place on such an unassuming night? Unless, someone else held a hand in this?

While he was puzzling this, he caught sight of movement at the edge of his peripheral vision. He snapped his gaze up to the far side of the garage, where he saw a side entrance open, and a digital outline of a female motioning towards him appearing through the gap. He did not need to read the tag to know it was Juliet.

Mamoru took a final cautions glance to make sure that they police were still preoccupied by the struggling criminal to notice him before he ran out from behind the desk, making it to the side door within seconds. As soon as he passed the doorframe Juliet closed the metal door behind him, tugging urgently at his jacket in the direction of the truck.

“What they hell are the police doing here so early?” Mamoru demanded, occasionally glancing behind them as they ran along the road.

“How am I supposed to know that?!” Juliet angrily hissed, trying to conceal her confusion as well. “All I know it that we can’t get caught. Igawa couldn’t bring the truck too close, in case the police decided to take a look in the surrounding area for any accomplices.”

“And the other dealers? Are they taken care of?”

“Yeah, Dai knocked them all out. They’re waiting patiently as our little gift to the force. Although, the surprise looks like it’s been spoiled, what with them opening their present a little earlier than expected.”

They turned sharply into a side street where they spotted their truck parked to the side, the doors flying open to allow them in. The two of them scrambled into the vehicle, and then slumped down into their seats as they struggled to regain their breath.

“Before you ask, it wasn’t me who called those cops here.” Igawa defended urgently, cringing at the dubious glare sent towards him by the bind man. “It’s true! I’m just as confused about this as you are, man.” This time it was Igawa who glared, his voice laced with accusation. “And why the hell did you turn the specs on mute?! I tried to warn you about the barricade before, but of course I couldn’t reach you!”

Mamoru groaned, rubbing the corners of his eyes in frustration. “It couldn’t connect well so all I was getting was static. It was distracting me and I wasn’t able to focus.”

Igawa was obviously about to argue back, but Juliet lifted her hand between them. “Look, you two can fight like an old married couple when we get back to base. For now, our priority is to get away without being caught by the cops.”

Dai’s face popped out from the back of the truck, also looking a little alarmed. “Hey, I think I can see some lights coming towards us.” Igawa spun around in his seat towards one of his computer monitors, and indeed on a map of the streets two red dots were moving towards the icon marking their own location. With a haste curse Igawa pulled back the hand brake and sped the truck off while making as little noise as possible.

They drove randomly through the streets to lose any followers they may have had, before Igawa pressed a button that altered the colour of the van from a dark green to sleek black. “Well, despite the almost-run-inn with the cops, I would say a job well done.”

Dai grunted in response, Juliet shrugging a shoulder absently. Mamoru chose not to answer as he pondered the events of the mission; the too-clear path, perfect timing, and unlikely coincidences. The more he thought about it, the more his suspicions grew. But for now, he kept his speculations to himself, admitting that he was too tired for any laborious thinking.

He slept the rest of the way home.


	7. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team returns from the mission, and Mamoru has a few questions for Haruka

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains mild implications of self-harm, so if that disturbs you, please be cautious.

The sky had just begun to lighten with the tender glow of dawn when the military truck rolled into their spacious garage, no one in the street being awake to question what such a sturdy vehicle was doing in the outskirts of central Tokyo. Despite its hefty mass, the truck barely made any noise as it squeaked to a stop within the privacy of their property.

All four adults that stumbled out of the truck looked drained and already half-asleep, Dai almost falling over Brucephalus as he clumsily rolled his bike away to charge. Juliet was the first to eagerly enter the house, and was not surprised to see someone already there waiting for them once the door connecting to the main building was pushed open.

On the couch in front of their flat-screen TV sat Haruka, her legs pulled up to her chest so her chin rested on the tops of her knees. Her hair was left out and looked slightly damp, some stubborn strands clinging to the skin of her neck in a scribble-like chocker pattern. The girl wore a blue oversized sweater that bunched around her neck cosily and covered a large portion of her hands, making her body seem far too small to even be able to stand on her own. The only light in the living room came from the TV, which was showing snippets of late-night news segments, illuminating its viewer in a shower of flashing colours. Jagged shadows crossed over her eyelids and high cheek bones from her long eyelashes, appearing like an elaborate eye makeup suitable for the black swan act in the royal ballet. In an eerie yet mystifying way, there was something ethereally beautiful about the scene before Juliet; the vulnerability of the girl contrasting with the sombre allure being exuded from the subtle artistry in her face and form.

Juliet noted that Haruka looked dazed as though caught in a day dream, and obviously had not yet noticed their return. Instead of alerting the girl as any sensible adult should, the infiltrator snuck around the edge of the room so she could approach the girl from behind, carefully walking towards Haruka with her arms raised in preparation for a tickle attack.

“Welcome home, Juliet.” Haruka spoke out suddenly, startling the older woman enough to almost make her lose her step. Instead of her initial plan, Juliet slumped over the back of the couch so she hung off Haruka’s shoulders like an indulged cat.

“God, your precognition can be a party-pooper sometimes.” Juliet grumbled while rubbing her cheek against the soft fabric of the knitted sweater. She could tell the garment was of a very good quality, feeling only a soothing brush against her tan skin, rather than the irritable scratch that normally comes from cheap knit ware. “This from the other day?” She felt Haruka slowly nod her head. Juliet hummed, pushing herself up with a long groan to walk to her own room to change.

“The kettle has just boiled if you want any tea or coffee.” Haruka stated, still not turning her head away from the screen that then began to display mug shots of notorious criminals. The men were all glaring heatedly through the camera and TV screen into every viewer, their hard faces contorting savagely with contempt. It was almost laughable how despite them being under police custody they still try to rebel in even the most pitiable way possible.

“Nah, I think I’ll pass.” Juliet yawned, craving a scolding shower and possibly a midnight snack. “Although I wouldn’t mind some beer.” She mused, ready to be told off by her junior that she shouldn’t drink so much alcohol after every mission, even if it is to celebrate. The scold never came. All she received instead was a breathy ‘okay,’ and then the silence resumed. Juliet shrugged off Haruka’s dismissal, deciding against putting off that shower any longer.

After Juliet had left, Igawa and Dai filed into the open lounge and after a quick greeting with the still girl and a rummage around the kitchens, both went to their respective rooms for a very long sleep. Mamoru was naturally the last to enter, and so he closed the steel door firmly behind him and locked it, double checking before resuming his path straight to the kitchen. He went about making very strong coffee, and just as he was about to ask whether Haruka wanted any, the girl interrupted with a flat “No thank you.”

A freshly brewed mug of the bitter liquid diluted with a generous helping of sugar in hand, Mamoru paced into the living room and planted himself on the opposite side of the couch Haruka was sitting on. He took a few small sips and sighed contently at the warmth seeping into his body after the long hours of accumulated stress in the past few days, easing his tense muscles and loosening his stiff joints. Mamoru grudgingly wondered whether he was starting to get too old.

For a few lengthy minutes neither of them said a word, letting only the grainy voice of the news presenter interrupt the otherwise silent room. With a resigned sigh, Mamoru reached over and delicately placed his mug on the coffee table, then returned to his relaxed position with his arms resting on the back of the couch. “The mission was more or less a success.” Mamoru commented, and then turned his blank gaze towards Haruka as he calmly remarked “But, I suppose you already knew that.” He received no reaction from the girl who kept her full attention directed at the screen in front of her, so he continued speaking in a monotone manner. “The first half of the mission went according to plan. Dai was far too eager, though. I’ll have to knock some sense into him later. But the second half was…” He paused as he tried to think of an appropriate word to summarize the strange events. “Odd.”

Mamoru noticed that she had inclined her head in his direction, signalling that she was listening, although he knew she was still not looking at him. The swordsman contemplated making her physically look him, but decided against it. “Up to when we got the criminals tied up went well, but while Dai and myself were distracted, one of them somehow managed to escape. I left Dai to take care of the others and chased after him. We ran for a while, until I walked in on him being arrested by a squad of cops. I escaped without being seen, but the whole situation was off. Firstly, there was no reason for the police to be in such a remote location for no reason. Secondly, it appeared as though the path that led to the area where he was arrested was cleared, and the other routes were blocked off. The whole chase was like it was planned and staged.”

While he was recounting the event, he pretended not to notice Haruka’s subtle fidgeting or the way the muscles around her jaw would flex as though they were being clenched. “And to be frank, I don’t think it was all chance.” He observed intently as the girl’s shoulders hunched forward. “My guess would be that someone else played a part in the mission.”

For a few moments there was a deafening silence that seemed to drown out even the background chatter from the television unit. “What are you implying, Mamoru?” Haruka spoke slowly, as though measuring each word before they left her mouth.

“I’m not implying anything; just stating my suspicion.” Mamoru defended, though he allowed a tone of accusation to linger in his sentence. “Although, if you are able to see anything with that precognition of yours, it would help, I’m sure.” The swordsman took a few stretched out sips of his coffee again, and made a loud clang as he replaced the mug on the table. “There is one thing that I would like to ask.” Mamoru finally turned his body around to face the tense girl, his thick hair falling over his face to cast an ominous shadow over his scarred skin. “Where did you go on your ‘walk’ two days ago?”

Haruka’s body suddenly jerked, her eyes widening in shock and horror. Mamoru watched as the digital outlines of her lips pursed stressfully, feeling his own scowl deepening as well.

The girl suddenly moved to get off the couch, quickly uttering that she should go to bed as well. Momoru wouldn’t allow that. “Sit down.” He commanded in a low growl, his voice resembling the threatening snarl of a tiger warning an intruder. Begrudgingly, she did. “Now,” Mamoru began, keeping his large frame towering over the young girl. “Tell me where exactly you were two nights ago.”

Haruka bit her lip, worrying it as she frantically mulled over her answers. “I told you before; I only went around the suburb. Not that far away.”

“You were gone for a while if you really only went nearby.”

“I was walking slowly, and took a lot of detours.”

“You looked exhausted.”

“You can’t see.”

“I can tell well enough.”

They had a brief staring contest, though while Mamoru was glaring at Haruka, she was sending her intense gaze towards the undeserving TV screen. Mamoru was the first to break the silence. “Alright, so what were you doing last night while we were away?”

“Does that matter?”

“Yes. It wouldn’t do if you were out on another ‘walk’ without us knowing.” Finally Mamoru felt her heated eyes land on him, feeling somewhat relieved that she was actually looking at him now. “And if you did stay home; what were you doing while you waited up for us? Were you planning other missions, looking up information on recent crimes in the area? Calling Siren?” Mamoru’s tone dropped another octave, his cool breath barely ghosting over her chilled skin. “Or maybe you were tipping off the police that there was going to be an escaped criminal running around the industrial area, being chased by the notorious demon swordsman.”

Haruka’s frustration was evident by the way she was steadily grinding her teeth, clenching her fist by her sides. “Why are you interrogating me like this?”

“Why do you keep avoiding my questions?”

For a few painful beats the tension between the pair was at its peak, but in a fraction of a second Haruka jumped from the couch and made to sprint towards the stairs, but Mamoru was faster and managed to grasp her wrist firmly and yanked her backwards so she fell onto the couch. He quickly planted his knee between her legs and brought her other arm up so he could grasp both in one hand, leaving his left free to take a hold of her chin and force her head to face him. He fleetingly thought of how frail her wrists felt under his fingers, but abandoned the sense of worry in favour of expressing his frustration in a dark growl that rumbled from his chest. “I didn’t say you could leave.”

“Let me go!” Haruka hissed up at him, trying to pry her arms out of his strong hold.

“Not until I get some answers.” Mamoru took a deep breath to stable his temper, catching the slight floral scent that came from her damp hair. He was then suddenly reminded of the trash that he and Dai had found, and the blood caked bandages they had uncovered. The realisation was like a slap to his face, and he released Haruka’s chin in favour of pulling down the sleeve of her sweater. The girl beneath him began to struggle harder, almost succeeding in kneeing him in the groin but just missing. As his sight was out of the question, he ran his free hand down the length of her forearm, and his eyes flew open when he felt the rows of thin cuts, and the occasional groove that interrupted her otherwise soft skin. Haruka hissed in pain beneath him, so he removed the hand on her arm, slowly leaning back to add some space between them. To his surprise, Haruka didn’t try to escape, but rather went slack beneath him, either resigned or too drained to fight any longer.

To his irritated astonishment, Mamoru found himself at a loss for words. He didn’t know what he should say at the knowledge that those bloody bandages were in fact Haruka’s. It wasn’t as though he didn’t have his suspicions, but when the reality became so definitive, he seemed lost as to how he should react.

Just when he was about to say something to Haruka, they both heard the floorboards above them creak, heading towards the staircase. Mamoru hastily pushed himself away from her and settled into his previous seat, knowing just how their former position would appear to an outsider. Haruka also sat back up, rolling her sleeves down and protectively crossing them over her chest once she curled into herself at the opposite side of the couch from the swordsman.

Within a few seconds Juliet came into view, towel drying her wet hair and clad in light pyjamas, seemingly a little surprised at seeing the two of them still up watching TV. “Why aren’t you both sleeping already?”

Haruka shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, while Mamoru took a few sips of his cooled coffee. “Not sleepy, I guess.” Haruka supplied, keeping her eyes locked on the screen.

Juliet nodded in acceptance, making her way into the kitchen to get a can of beer from the fridge. “Well, try and get a little rest, at least. Sleep deprivation isn’t good for your looks.”

Haruka breathily laughed, though it was clear to Mamoru that it was forced. “Yes, I’ll try.”

Juliet waved her hand at them with a tired “Night” before she disappeared back up the stairs. As soon as they heard the click of a door closing above them, Haruka curled in on herself tighter, and Mamoru stood up and begun to walk away to the adjoining kitchen. He silently poured the remainder of his coffee down the kitchen drain, listening to the slight gurgling sound at the fluid was swallowed up by the greedy pipes. Just before he was about to ascend the stairs, he tuned his head back so Haruka could hear him clearer. “We’ll finish this later.”

Mamoru made his way into his room, discarding his jacket and shirt before he collapsed onto his bed. The weight of all the frustration from recent events had drained him completely, and he could no longer fight the pull of his eyelids as he fell into a deep sleep that would last many hours of comatose-like rest.

It was unfortunate that no one was awake to hear the front door creak open and close with a definitive click, as someone fled the safety of their home and into the empty roads that were lit by the unnatural gleam of the streetlights.


	8. Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team wakes up and something, or rather someone, is missing

“What do you mean she isn’t here?!”

Igawa paced impatiently around his desk, worrying his lip as he crossed his arms restlessly before rounding on Momoru who was seated on the same couch where he had confronted Haruka the previous night. “Come on, Mamoru! You saw her last, didn’t she say anything? Was she acting strange?” The techie flailed his arms to accentuate his statement, his expression obviously distressed at the sudden disappearance of their charge.

Mamoru had removed his glasses and was pressing his fingers against his eyelids, trying to suppress a growing migraine. “I already told you everything I know. She didn’t tell me where she was going. She didn’t even imply anything. And yes, she was acting strange, but that seems to be normal these days.”

Juliet watched in bemusement from where she was perched on the breakfast bench, nursing a large mug that used to be full to the brim with hot chocolate, but now only held a layer of crusted chocolate sediment at the base of the mug. Surprisingly, Juliet had been the first to wake up after ten o’clock, unable to sleep any longer despite her lethargy. She had come down into the kitchen where she had made an omelette and her velvety sweet drink, pondering where Haruka was, after not seeing the blonde girl despite her being an early riser. Juliet had shrugged it off as teenage drowsiness and had continued with her day. When noon had come and Haruka was yet to appear, she had become worried. But after all the men had come down and realised the girl’s disappearance, there was panic.

There was no surprise that Igawa was the least collected of all four of them, sprinting back and forth between each room to repeatedly inspect the same space over and over again. Dai had joined in with the search, but had given up first and sat brooding at the base of the stairs. When it became clear to him that Haruka was definitely not there, Igawa had dejectedly returned to the lounge area where everyone was gathered.

“So, what should we do?” Dai spoke up, his slanted eyes narrowed in worry. Juliet shrugged stiffly, and Igawa simply hung his head miserably. They were all at a loss.

Mamoru pondered stormily whether or not then was the right time to share with his team mates what he had uncovered. Although he never did get any clear answers from Haruka, he was certain that he did not mistake the scars he had felt on her arms. Mamoru could feel the intense glare coming from Dai, most likely trying to gauge whether to expose the incident with the bloody bandages or not. Again, the swordsman groaned as he rubbed his temples. It was ridiculous how a man feared by the underworld as the ‘Demon swordsman’ could be so helpless in such a mundane situation. Then again, he mused that he didn’t know just how grave the situation was, with how erratic Haruka’s behaviours were recently.

“Alright, there’s no use running about like headless chickens, is there?” Juliet suddenly snapped, putting down her mug and jumping off from the bench, and briskly walked into the centre of the lounge. It was apparent that she had taken the position of authority for the time being. “From what I gather, we have two options; wait, or look.” Every eye was focused intently on her, and satisfied at the attention she was receiving, Juliet continued sternly. “We could send out Dai on Brucephalus and Igawa in the van, but this would probably be pretty impractical. First of all, we don’t know how long Haruka has been gone, so we have no idea how far we should search, much less where to start. Secondly, we don’t know the reason why Haruka left. It may just be that she wanted to be alone for a while, in which case it would only irritate her more if we went hunting for her. Thirdly – and most importantly – we are dealing with a precognitive, so if she doesn’t want to be found, it’s going to be near impossible to find her.”

Igawa groaned at the realisation, chastising himself for not thinking about that. It was definitely true that Haruka would be very much capable of flying under their radar, for she would know exactly when and where they would be searching, and the areas they were least likely to look.

Seeing Igawa’s rapidly declining mood, Juliet lifted a finder to motion for him to be quiet. “Remember, there is still the second option.” At this the techie lifted his cornrowed head, eyes wearily observing the tan woman. “And personally I think this option would be more preferable. Like I said before, we don’t know the reason why she left. And again, if she did get in trouble, she should be capable of getting away long enough to contact us. I doubt she would be so stubborn as to not call us for help. So, I propose we choose a time where we wait, and if she isn’t back by then, we go searching. And if we still can’t find her, then we get the Network involved. Does that sound fair?”

Mamoru hummed in contemplation, going over the basic plan. “Yeah, it would work. But we should all be on standby in case Haruka does need us.”

Igawa nodded stiffly, keeping his eyes glued to his feet. “Okay, so when is the deadline?”

Juliet thought for a moment, before answering firmly. “I say we start searching at about ten o’clock. It would be dark by then, so it would be less likely that people would see Brucephalus or the van scouting around the streets and get suspicious.”

They all nodded in agreement, and wordlessly disbanded to get ready. Juliet changed into more practical clothes and strapped two handguns through her holsters. Igawa efficiently got the van ready, as well as hacking into the local surveillance cameras to get a visual of a few key streets. Dai put on his riding gear and played with his cat next to his bike. Mamoru was the last to come down after getting ready, clad in a sturdy leather jacket, denim jeans and both glasses and cane in hand. They all spent the following hours on their toes, waiting fearfully for a phone that never rung.

* * *

 

As they had all decided, as soon as the lounge room clock hit ten o’clock and they were yet to hear anything from the missing girl; Juliet, Igawa and Mamoru set out in their van, while Dai zoomed off ahead of them.

“We should probably focus on searching the back streets and alleys. I doubt Haruka would be bold enough to go somewhere crowded where she can easily be recognized.” Juliet instructed in the passenger side of the van.

“Maybe also the industrial area from yesterday.” Mamoru added, receiving quizzical looks from the pair seated in front of him. The swordsman sighed at their narrow-mindedness. “Haruka helped planning for yesterday’s mission, so she probably did a lot of research about the area. She’ll be familiar with her environment, and that would give her an advantage in case of an emergency. And anyway, it seemed an ideal place for people who want to be alone.”

Juliet nodded in agreement. “That makes sense. Alright, it would be easier for Dai to search those areas. The van is limited to where it can go. Did you hear that Dai?”

“Yeah, got it.” The biker’s static voice filtered through the speakers before the line dropped off again.

They continued to drive at a steady pace, occasionally stopping to search through narrower streets. When their search produced no results by midnight, the trio in the van came to an agreement, which they retold to Dai who was on the other side of the city cruising the factories as directed. “Alright, this game of hide-and-seek is getting old. If we can’t find her by sunrise, we’re bringing the Elements Network into this. No matter how good she is at hiding, she can’t escape the eyes of every single member in Tokyo looking for her.” Mamoru stated, receiving grave nods in response. Igawa restarted the engine and they sped off into the darkness of twilight, none of them fully succeeding in suppressing their anxiety.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is a really short chapter, but I plan to post chapter 9 pretty soon... Any comments are greatly appreciated.


	9. Lost and found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dai comes across a lost girl

Brucephalus flew across streets, swerving skilfully around obstacles as Dai’s steely eyes jumped across the visual provided by his technologically enhanced helmet. He clicked his tongue in frustration when he caught sight of a digital notification in the corner of his view informing him that it had just reached three o’clock in the morning. He could feel the dragging weight or sleep deprivation, but mentally shook his head to slap himself out of his drowsiness. He could not afford to be slacking off; especially when Haruka’s safety was at stake.

Dai had been searching the industrial area for about five hours, and the lack of progress was steadily grinding on his nerves. He thought that he had already checked every building, and felt as though he was running in circles. However he dared not stop, dreading the backlash he would receive from the other team mates if he did. But what was he to do?

He had just turned a corner and was prepared to speed down the road but found someone very familiar standing directly in his path.

“Shit!” Dai screeched as he swerved dangerously, skidding across the pavement as he regained balance and spun his bike around in a single fluid motion, going back the way he came before rolling to a smooth stop next to the person he had narrowly missed running over. “The hell were ya’ thinking?!” Dai shouted enraged, dismounting his bike to face the still body of Tohyama Haruka.

The girl stood in the middle of the empty street, long hair swaying in the early breeze of morning, mimicking the wispy movements of a willow tree’s branches. A distant street light cast an eerie glow over her, silhouetting a shadow across the stretch of concrete, reminding Dai of an imprint of a fallen angel he had once seen in some American TV series. The jumper that hung off her shoulders was scuffed and smeared with a bit of dirt, a small tear revealing a sliver of pale skin between the woven blue strands. When standing in such an empty and vast area, it was hard to ignore how thin and frail she looked, her legs lanky and too narrow for her age and height to be healthy. The biker cursed himself for not paying more attention when the topic had been raised at the dinner table not too long ago.

Haruka slowly inclined her head to gaze blankly at Dai, who felt his eyes widen in surprise and worry at the way strands of gold hair clung to her tear-stained cheeks, and how detached and empty her silver eyes were. The sudden depth in them had lost the childish innocence they had somehow managed to retain after all those years exposed to the horrors of crime, making her appear tired and far too matured for her age.

“For running away, or for standing in your path?” Haruka asked flatly, her usually upbeat tone having fled with no trace.

Dai watched the girl incredulously, shaking his head in bafflement. “No, never mind. We can talk later. For now, ya’ need ta go back. Everyone’s losing their heads lookin’ for ya’.” He began to gently nudge her towards his bike, but was met with unexpected resistance.

“I know.” Haruka whispered.

Dai frowned, squeezing the girl’s shoulders gently. “Look, I don’t know why ya’ ran. But just come back, alright?”

He was baffled when Haruka solemnly shook her head, mournfully casting her eyes down. “I can’t. Not yet, at least.”

The biker bit his lip, trying to decide on the best solution to the unfamiliar situation. He knew that the rest of his team – Igawa especially – would be furious if he didn’t bring the girl back as soon as possible. However, when he looked closer at Haruka and saw the small tremors that shook her shoulders, and how pale she looked under the poor street lights, he came to a conclusion fairly quickly.

With a drawn out sigh, the biker murmured into his helmet and waited as a few shrill rings filled his ears, suddenly cut off as it was replaced by a frantic Igawa. “Dai! What is it? Is something wrong?”

Dai returned his narrowed gaze to the sullen girl, and was tempted to say that ‘yes, something was definitely wrong’, but refrained from saying too much so as to not panic the techie even more. “Calm down, ya’ idiot. Nothing’s wrong. Just thought ya’ll want to know that I found Haruka.” This time he didn’t miss the way Haruka hunched her shoulders miserably.

“Really?! Oh thank God. Alright, so where do we meet? Should we come pick you guys up?”

Dai held his breath, knowing he was probably going to regret his decision later. “No, you guys go back home ahead of us. We’ll catch up later.” Haruka snapped her gaze up in surprise, eyes regaining a faint glimmer of their light, which relieved the man greatly. Unfortunately, that emotion did not reach the other end of the line.

“What are you talking about?!” There was a distant grumble that may have been the vans motor, or Mamoru speaking in his usual low tone.

“Look, I get you’re a little scared, but she’s with me. And anyway, she doesn’t look harmed, so there’s no need to rush back, is there?” There was a pregnant pause on the other line, so he continued. “There’s a reason she left the house, and we don’t know what that is yet. If she doesn’t want to be home, we can afford a little time away, right? So I’ll stay with her a little longer, and when we’re ready we’ll go back home. Sound good?”

There was an incomprehensible short conversation between the three adults in the van, and finally Mamoru’s deep voice filtered through the speakers. “Alright. If something happens call us. Otherwise, try to be back before sunrise. We don’t need people seeing Brucephalus in the day.”

“Yeah yeah.” Dai closed the connection before another word could be spoken, and turned around to remount his bike. Once he was seated comfortably, he turned his head back so he could look at Haruka over his shoulder. “Well? Ya gettin’ on or what?”

The girl hesitated before she lifted a leg over the back end of the bike, seating herself so she was pressed flat against Dai’s broad back. The man felt thin arms wrap loosely around his waist, and scoffed before gently grasping them and crossing them over so they were locked firmly. “You’ll fly off if ya’ don’t hold on well enough.” With that warning, Haruka did as told and Dai cranked the handles, feeling the light vibrations from the motor shaking the riders. “This bike ain’t designed for two people so it won’t be a joy ride, but it’ll do.”

He felt Haruka nod against him, and leant forwards before flying across the road, the wheels barely skimming the rough cement as he rode with no particular destination. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do, but when he noticed Haruka’s body shake with what could only be sobs, he knew that no matter what, he had to do anything to help this girl, who was suffering through a darkness that they were all blind to. But then again, it was nothing new that this girl saw things that they couldn’t even comprehend. And he had to question what it was like to have a mind like hers; not having anyone that you could relate with, and having no one understand you. It was with a bitter taste in his mouth that Dai finally decided where they should go, but also kept riding through the dark streets of Tokyo, allowing the child a moment where she could scream out her pain and let every tear fall from her eyes, knowing that for once, she was provided with a safe haven where she didn’t exist in a single place, and was everywhere at the same time; a state of being where time didn’t pass, and reality couldn’t catch up with the speed at which they flew. A place where she was free.


	10. Discussion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dai and Haruka finally have a discussion long over due. Secrets uncovered; pain revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, sorry for taking so long to update. I had exams so writing was put on hold. But holidays are fast approaching (woo!) so I should be able to update more frequently (I hope...). Also, Dai acts very OOC in this chapter, but that will be explained in the next one, so bear with me. Secondly, trigger warning for self-harm. If you're sensitive to this subject, please be cautious. Other than that, I hope you enjoy.

Dai tapped his booted foot impatiently as two cans of coke clattered down the internal structure of an old vending machine after having swallowed a descent note and never returned his change. He was very much tempted to furiously shake the machine until his money came out – as he would have normally done – but was far too tired to bother with it. So when he finally collected the two sugary drinks, he calmly made his way back to where he had left Haruka and Brucephalus along with his helmet.

They were at an auto-garage on the other end of Tokyo, where numerous vehicles ranging from the common car to suspiciously gang-like bikes littered the yard, some still in the process of being fixed while others were completed and awaiting to be picked up by their owners. Along the border of the property were multiple mounds made of dirt, densely packed and marred by tire tracks that lined their curved tops. The whole area smelled of petrol and grease, which would most likely discourage sophisticated individuals to offer up their vehicles for repair, if it were not for the exceptional skill of the shop’s mechanics. These were facts Dai was confident about.

On the peak of a dirt-mound closest to the main garage building, Haruka sat next to Dai’s black helmet with her knees pulled up to her chest, curling her arms around her shoulders protectively. Seeing her shivering in the early morning chill – especially wearing light shorts meant for bed – Dai abruptly changed his destination and jogged towards the old building.

The architecture of said building was shabby and not at all inviting, with faded walls and dirty windows that barely revealed the clutter inside. The grey stone tiles were old and mouldy, a few having fallen off leaving patches of the internal structure visible. Hanging from the front wall was a dull red board displaying the garage logo – an intricate swirl design with the outline of a skull – and a barely identifiable name, which was most likely that of the business.

When Dai approached the entrance door he made sure to curve around the centre which he knew was being filmed by a security camera; although he doubted he would get into much trouble from trespassing, he preferred to avoid any unwanted confrontations. Dai ran his gloved fingers under the third shelf of a cluttered shoe rack, feeling for the spare key he knew was there. When he found it, he tore it away from the masking tape that held it in place, and swiftly opened the door and went inside. He cringed at the high squeak the door made when it swung shut, but continued on. The interior was just as musky and damp as he remembered it to be, musing that the owner had yet to fix the building’s poor ventilation. There was nothing fancy about the décor, aimed solely at practicality and efficiency. However, the obvious mess of dirty laundry, scattered magazines and paperwork gave everything a grungy atmosphere, which could be said to add to the building’s character. The main difference from the last time Dai had visited the place was the lack of empty alcohol bottles and unmistakable traces of drug-use. It relieved him to know that the owner was at least clean for the time being.

Dai didn’t waste too much time taking in the details of the building and went to search through a cupboard further in, and finally went back out through the same route he took when he found a thick blanket with only a thin layer of dust coating its surface. It was a putrid orange-brown fabric that reminded him of oranges being forgotten for months and only being uncovered when they were but a puddle of mush, but he was never one to care about little things like colour, so he took it anyway – although he failed to fathom why the manufacturers would pick that colour over any other shade from the virtually endless spectrum. He carefully locked the door, replaced the key with the same tape, and promptly went back to the girl that watched him approach curiously.

The man collapsed down next to Haruka with a grunt, pushing one of the cans into her hand before throwing the half opened blanket over them. Haruka nodded thankfully and hastily pulled the thick fabric over her exposed legs, sighing in relief from the welcomed warmth. Once Dai was satisfied with the placement of the blanket, he finally went to click open his own drink.

There was a sudden _sshpriff_ sound as the foam from the can spurted over the top and poured down onto the blanket in a bubbling brown river that looked like the ‘lava’ from a primary school volcano experiment. “Shit, crap!” Dai hissed, distressed more so at losing some of his drink than the mess he had made. The biker did however have time to congratulate himself for choosing the blanket that would be least missed, and had the most success at camouflaging the stain in its ugliness. “Probably shouldn’t have shaken it so much.” Dai grumbled as he slurped up what was left at the top of the can.

Dai’s bemusement was interrupted by a quiet tinkling laugh from beside him, which he turned to see was Haruka, who had a small smile curving her lips. “What, you laughing at me?” Dai challenged in mock-irritation, masking his relief at hearing the familiar noise.

Haruka shook her head in denial, though her smile didn’t fall. To be truthful, Haruka didn’t look her best. Her hair was messy from the bike ride, and her face was flushed from crying. Dai had chosen not to bring it up, and had the decency to save Haruka the embarrassment of explaining. Igawa probably would have joked that it was completely out of character of the bikie, but Dai didn’t accommodate that thought much.

“Here, give me yours.” Dai said as he snatched the unopened can from Haruka’s hand, moving it to the side and angling it away from them before flicking the top open, allowing the coke spray to fly into the open air as a pale mist. Once he was sure that they were safe from any more surprise attacks, he returned it to the girl who timidly sipped at the drink.

They sat in content silence for a few minutes, drinking and listening to the strange sounds that made up the general noise of an early city morning. It had been a while since either of them spent time simply breathing and absorbing their surroundings, not thinking of anything and letting themselves savour the simplicity of the moment.

“Where are we...?” Haruka suddenly asked, nervously turning the can around with her fingers.

Dai swept his eyes over the messy yard, musing that it didn’t look so different from where their last mission took place. “Ahh, friend of mine owns this place. He’s a mechanic, an’ a pretty good one, too. Gave me my first bike.” Dai began, but scrunched his nose at a memory while he added, “Well, I kinda stole it from him and crashed it, so he told me if I could fix it I could have it.” He then directed a triumphant smirk at his company, smugly saying “Which I did, of course.”

Haruka hummed quietly, smiling at the man’s boyish pride. “What’s his name?”

Haruka didn’t miss the faint twitch of his jaw when Dai hesitated before answering stiffly. “…Shou.” Dai reached behind the girl and picked up his helmet, bringing it in front of him where he spun it on his index finger with practised ease. “A lot of guys used ta’ hang out here. We used ta’ call this place the ‘rat’s nest’. We all learned to ride bikes, and usually raced each other over the hills here.” He accentuated his point by lightly stamping a foot on the ground. “We also had a few places further away in the countryside, where we’d sometimes go and just mess around. We were all close, I suppose. But, I was still closest to Shou. Him, and his sister...” Dai’s voice slowly tapered off, his voice becoming nothing more than a low rumble by the end of the sentence. The helmet dropped into his blanketed lap with a small thud.

Dai suddenly shook his head vigorously, dispelling whatever thoughts had clouded his mind. He used his teeth to peel the gloves from his hands, spitting them to the side and out of the way. Once they were bare, Dai ran his fingers through his thick black hair, ruffling them up in a nervous habit. He had not intended to mention the girl, and desperately tried to replace his focus on something else.

Unfortunately, he chose the wrong topic.

“Have ya’ been hurt?” Dai blurted out, straining his narrow eyes on the girl who now looked surprised at the abrupt change the conversation took. “Ya’ know, like, are ya’ injured? Have you… bled?” Haruka immediately went stiff, averting her gaze back to the ground guiltily. A few loose strands fell forward to obscure her face from the biker’s inquisitive eyes, but did nothing to prevent the small signs of anxiety being detected. Dai closely watched her nervous behaviour, slowly piecing bits of information together. “Cuz a while back, the blind bastard and I found some bloody bandages in the trash. We thought someone was injured and didn’t think it needed to be shared, so didn’t tell anyone ‘bout it, ya’ know?” Haruka looked more uncomfortable with every uttered word, and Dai became sure who those bandages belonged to. “It was you, right?”

Haruka didn’t say anything, but gasped harshly and slapped a hand over her mouth, muffling a broken cry as fresh tears began lining her closed eyes. “…Please don’t tell anyone…” She whispered, hiccupping from the sudden rush of emotions.

Dai watched horrified as the girl suppressed her cries, utterly at a loss to what he should do. He awkwardly placed a hand on her shaking shoulder, his other one hovering in the air with no direction to go. “Hey, what’re ya’ suddenly cryin’ for?” He asked, eyes wide and frantic. All he received was a weak shake of the head, so he sighed and leaned in a little closer to the girl, moving his hand to the other shoulder so his arm rested around her small frame. “Alright, fine, I won’t tell anyone.” He said in what he hoped was a soothing tone. It probably wasn’t. “Look, we’re just worried ‘bout ya’, alright?” He felt Haruka nod after a brief pause, so he squeezed her shoulder a little before continuing. “Ya’ don’t have to, but do ya’ think you can show me? I need to make sure it ain’t too bad, and you probably won’t want anyone else checking, do ya’?” He left out the fact that Mamoru would be utterly useless in helping, seeing as he was blind.

For a very long while nothing happened, though Haruka’s crying had calmed down to the occasional snuffle. Finally, the girl slightly pulled away from the man and brought her trembling fingers to her left sleeve and slowly rolled it up her forearm.

Dai’s eyes slowly widened until the muscles surrounding them begin to ache from the strain, and he felt a heavy weight pool in his gut, churning like a toxic concoction tearing through the stomach lining, burning the back of his throat with a coating of bile.

Across the length of Haruka’s pale skin, rows of cuts ran across horizontally, creating what looked like a gory barcode carved into the arm. They varied in depth and freshness, with some being old and healed over, while a few were barely scabbed and still tender. The patch of skin looked uneven and rough, discoloured and irritated where it brushed against the fabric of her jumper. Most wounds were left bare, but the worst ones had to be taped together to prevent them from splitting open. The image was gruesome and unfitting for the otherwise innocent appearance of the young girl. It was a cruel reminder how what is presented on the surface could be devastatingly deceptive and have fatal consequences.

Nothing could be trusted, and everything had to be questioned.

Dai closed his eyes as he tried to overcome his nausea, breathing deeply to allow oxygen to reach his brain. He was suddenly assaulted by distant memories, the sight before him hitting far too close to home for his liking. When he reopened his eyes, he was met by the same, sad silver from less than an hour ago. No life, only an eternal promise of pain and misery.

To the surprise of both of them, Dai pulled the girl to his broad chest and held her in place, rubbing soothing circles on her back. He didn’t know for how long, but he just embraced her wordlessly, providing comfort not only to Haruka, but perhaps himself as well.

After the long moment of silence, he whispered in a hoarse voice that he could barely recognize as his own, “I’m so sorry I didn’t notice. I should’ve realized you were hurting, an’ I didn’t.” Each word was rich with regret, and he realised he had only ever herd that sound leave his mouth on a few other occasions.

Haruka pulled her face away from the leather bike-wear it was pressed against and looked up at the man with weary wonderment. “…You aren’t angry…?”

Dai scoffed humourlessly, feeling his gaze glass over. “How could I be angry when you’ve been fighting on ya’ own for god knows how long?” Haruka’s eyes widened at his words, and Dai smiled remorsefully down at her, ghosting a finger over an old scar near her elbow. “These aren’t a sign of weakness, Haruka. I know they’re not. These are ya’ battle scars, from the war you’re fighting in your head, right?” Haruka was holding her breath, seemingly lost for words. Dai in turn rested his head against hers, closing his eyes so the moisture gathering behind his eyelids couldn’t leak out. “Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise, you hear?” He said brokenly, his voice wavering slightly.

“Dai-san…?” Haruka inquired worriedly, not sure how she should react to this new side of the usually tough bikie.

Dai pulled back and released Haruka from his embrace, bringing them back to their previous distance, but still kept his hand resting on her shoulder. “There was someone I knew that was also fightin’ a war. A war in her mind, as well as the world she lived in.” The biker began, a single tear slipping past his defences.

“Her name was Akiko… an’ I loved her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate writing in Dai's slang. Seriously dude, speak normally.


	11. Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dai reveals his past to Haruka

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so basically I made up my own impression of Dai's tragic backstory, because it wasn't specified in the manga. I wanted it to be something that Haruka was able to relate to, and in chapter 100 Dai said to Juliet that he received 'special treatment' from Daiba, so this is what I came up with. There's a few OC's in here, so I hope they don't bother you. I doubt they will return in the fic, but no promises. Also, trigger warning for self-harm, past abuse and past rape. It's nothing explicit, but please beware. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this extra-long chapter

“I used ta live in Kyoto when I was really young, an’ my dad worked with car dealers an’ stuff, so I used ta tag along whenever he went to garages an’ looked around at the cars an’ bikes. I always got in trouble when I tried ta break into the vehicles, but used ta do it anyway. Those years were actually pretty fun, but our family had ta move to Tokyo when I was ‘bout eight. I don’t really know why, but the move just changed everythin’. I got teased for my Kyoto dialect, so I used ta always get inta’ fights with the other kids. Things b’tween my parents were also gettin’ pretty bad, so they were always fightin’. Apparently my dad’s business was goin’ bankrupt, an’ we were pretty much broke. It was like they were tryin’ to argue whose fault it was that everythin’ was goin’ ta shit.” Dai began, his eyes distant and unfocused as he visualised the almost daily arguments that used to thunder through his home, each word shrieked furiously and woven with threats and the occasional breaking of glass. He saw his child self cowering in his room, trying to muffle the angry shouts with his thin pillow. But he knew that it was useless, and the noise always found a way to reach him through all the defences he put around himself.

“I was a real angry kid, always brawlin’ with older brats an’ breaking things. I used ta get in trouble everywhere I went, which only made my parents angrier. I eventually found this place, an’ started havin’ a look around. I saw a few guys ridin’ bikes, and that’s when I got interested as well. I went to junk yards an’ tried lookin’ through what I could find, pretendin’ to ride some if they were good enough. But I really wanted a real one, so I came back to this garage and found a bike that wasn’t bein’ used. I thought no one was there, so I just went for it.” Dai chuckled at the memory, though it was still laced with bitterness. “I probably looked ridiculous, though. Some tiny brat ridin’ an adult-sized bike, tryin’ ta pull off tricks over the dirt ramps on his first shot. Man, that was insane.” Dai still remembered how his short legs barely reached the bottom of the bike, and the number of times he had almost flown right off due to the furious movement from the rough course. That was also the first time he had experienced the strength of gravity at its full. But what he remembered most about the experience was how loud the wind sounded blowing past his ear, howling through his mind and blanking everything else out, so all that he knew was the machine under his body, himself, and the adrenaline that pumped through his delicate veins. All the arguments, the school ground bash-ups, and the screams could not reach him in that moment of freedom, and he knew that he was utterly, madly in love with riding.

“Finally a few guys came out ta see what was happenin’, probably thinkin’ that someone was tryin’ ta steal their bike. When one of ‘em tried ta stop me, I lost balance and drove the bike right into the garage wall. I wasn’t goin’ real fast, but it messed up the bike pretty bad. A few of the guys were pissed and looked like they were goin’ ta beat me, but then one of ‘em just started laughin’. He was pretty much grovellin’ at the time. I wasn’t hurt or anything, but the guy laughin’ freaked me the fuck out. After a while, the rest of the guys started laughin’ too, and in the end we’re all laughing on the dirt. Once we’d all calmed down, the guy that had started it came up ta me an’ pulled me up. He said I pulled some crazy shit, and that he was kinda impressed. But, I still broke one of his bikes, and I needed ta pay for it. Obviously I had no money, so that was out of the question. He told me he thought as much, and made me a deal. If I could fix it, I could have it for free. If not, he would come to my house and steal whatever he wanted as compensation. I thought it was fair enough, so I agreed.” Dai reminisced of the young man who had knelt in front of him, offering a ringed hand to shake on their deal. He was heavily tattooed with tribal markings running around his throat, and intricate images of predatory animals pouncing up his toned arms in a brutal battle of the wild. He had numerous metal rings and studs on each ear, an eyebrow bar and black snakebite piercings as well. But what stood out most about him was the hair dyed a bright scarlet, looking like mythological fire burning with a fierceness that rivalled the first flame brought to man by Prometheus. It was fair to say that Dai looked up to him from first sight. “Well, that’s how I met Shou.

“They let me use their garage ta work in, so I spent pretty much every day workin’ on the bike. Sometimes some of them would give me a hand with somethin’ hard, but mostly I did it myself. It took a couple months, but eventually I fixed it. I’d been practicing riding too, so I rode the fixed thing into the garage to show Shou and the rest. They all had a look at it, and one even took it out on a spin to test it out. In the end, they all agreed that I did a good enough job, and they didn’t have ta come and rob me anymore. But I wasn’t really sure how I felt ‘bout that, cuz I thought that meant I couldn’t be at the garage anymore. Shou apparently knew what I was thinkin’, cuz he picked me up an’ threw me over his shoulder, then took me into the main building that I wasn’t allowed in before. I was kinda’ worried that he was goin’ ta do something ta me, but he just led me into a kind of game room, with a pool table, darts an’ a cheap bar. They said that I could go in there any time I wanted, an’ could use their tools to meddle with more bikes if I wanted. I didn’t really know what I should say, so I kinda just shouted that I was gonna beat them in the next bike race. They all laughed, an’ I officially became a fellow rat.”

Dai smiled fondly at the memory, picturing how angry he was when he had come last in the race. It had been raining the night before so the track was muddy, and the tires had slipped on a sharp curve and he had skidded right off the course and into a pile of spare tires. He had gotten a pretty deep cut on his shin from the collision, and Shou had come straight to his side to help him out. But being the stubborn kid he was, Dai had refused any form of first aid until he had finished the course. That was probably also the day that Dai fully earned the respect of the other riders.

Dai was never officially told that the group he had joined was actually a gang of sorts, but rather just blended into the reality and accepted it. The ‘Rats’ wasn’t a group that took part in the conventional assaults or robberies like their rival gangs did, but were still known by the authorities as a force to be recognized. They had the occasional conflict with enemies, but were otherwise rather civilized by their dubious standards.

“For a few years things just went on like that. It was all pretty cool, an’ I learned more and more ‘bout bikes, which was great. I also got better at riding, an’ almost never came last in the races.” Dai’s face suddenly grew solemn, and his usually sharp eyes grew dark and shadowed with emotion. “It was ‘round when I was thirteen that I met Akiko for the first time.”

Dai drew in a long breath, trying to regulate his erratic heart beats. He knew that the topic he was approaching always made him unstable, but he also felt that he couldn’t bear to stop now, and leave it unfinished. When he felt a soft hand being placed over his own comfortingly, Dai found the strength to push on.

“Akiko was Shou’s younger sister. She was older than me by a year, an’ lived on the other side of Tokyo. That was why I hadn’t met her, or even seen her ‘til then. Akiko and Shou were only half related by blood. They came from different fathers, apparently. Both marriages fell out, an’ while Shou could live on his own, Akiko was too young, an’ was livin’ with her dad. I think the mum was tryin’ ta have a baby with another guy at the time.

“Anyway, it was school holidays an’ she had come down ta stay with her stepbrother over the break. And she was…” Dai trailed off, trying to come up with an appropriate adjective. “…amazing. I mean, she was kickass. Only fourteen and she was seriously inked up – not as much as Shou, but pretty impressive anyway. You probably wouldn’t think it when ya first saw her, but she was a killer on a bike. And I ain’t sayin’ this lightly; she owned the road. But she was also really thin – an’ I mean really thin. She reminded me of a bird the first time I saw her. You could pretty much see every bone in her body. I thought she was sick, but no one would tell me anythin’. In the end I asked her if she was, an’ she sucker punched me on the jaw. Man, I looked like a blueberry for a month.”

Dai chuckled fondly at the memory of that day; how Akiko’s thin brows had furrowed dangerously before she had swung her fist and knocked him straight to the ground, raven hair streaked with dyed blue flaring behind her as she threw her entire weight into the motion. He could still hear the distant chorus of hoots from Shou and the gang as he had scrambled back up, and the fierce tug on his shirt as the girl had forcibly yanked him up by his collar and growled to never ask stupid questions to people he didn’t know. Her eyes were practically glowing with rage in a way he had never seen before in anyone, dark eyeliner flicking out from the corners and painted lips stretched into a snarl.

Odd as it were, Dai probably fell for her in that moment.

“After that, I followed her ‘round whenever I could, an’ got some of the older guys ta teach me how ta fight. Though I looked up to her, I still felt ashamed that I lost so badly, ya’ know? So anyway, for ‘bout a year it was like that, and I got a couple hits whenever I annoyed her too much. But after a while, I think she got used ta’ me, cus’ she let me ride next to her on the track, and even taught me a few tricks.

“I can’t remember when, but sometime when I was sixteen we started datin’. It was nothin’ sweet like the usual teen romance, but it worked well for us. But even though I had known her for over three years, there were still heaps I didn’t get about her.”

Dai’s voice hitched painfully, and he brought his hand up to cover his face to hide the moisture that gathered in his eyes. “She would sometimes disappear for a couple days, sometimes weeks, and never told anyone where she was. I asked her, but she didn’t tell me either. An’ sometimes I would see bruises on her skin, but she kept tellin’ me it was just fights with some brats. I always believed her. Man, why the hell did I have to believe her all the goddamn time?!” He growled out through his dry throat, and clenched his fingers in Haruka’s soft sweater.

“One day,” Dai rasped quietly, trying desperately to regulate his breathing. “I walked in on her changin’, an’ saw these scars all over her.” Haruka stiffened slightly, but continued to rub circles over Dai’s free hand. “Some were old, some fresh. They all looked pretty nasty though. Akiko noticed and screamed at me. I don’t remember what she said, but she threw me out an’ after a minute ran to her bike and left.” The way each cut, scratch and burn stood out vividly over her snowy skin haunted his mind, the expression of shock and betrayal on her face was a painful reminder of how he had failed her. But the worst thing for him was the fear he saw in Akiko; something he had naively managed to believe that she was incapable of feeling. Akiko was strong, and never showed people her vulnerably. Not even to him; especially not him. “I was confused an’ really worried, but didn’t follow her. Man, I should have. My god I should’ve.

“The next day, no one had heard from Akiko so I decided to go to her dad’s house. I’d never been before, but I knew where it was. I got there and thought no one was there, cus’ I didn’t hear anythin’. But I took a look around anyway, an’ I…” Dai choked as he finally let hot tears fall from his clenched eyes, gasping out his words as he spoke. “I found her in the bathroom, and… an’ there was blood everywhere. She was in the tub, an’ she wasn’t moving! I screamed at her ta’ wake up, but she, she didn’t – couldn’t! I took her hand and saw that there were cuts goin’ down both of her arms, and the blood, it wouldn’t stop flowin’. God, I screamed. I didn’t know what at, but I screamed anyway…!

“I don’t know how long later, but Shou came in, an’ he saw, an’ he broke. That was the first time I saw him cry. He wouldn’t stop screamin’ ‘why?’ I got a better look at her, and saw the scars closer. They were pretty much everywhere. Wrists, arms, stomach, thigh, hips, everywhere. But there was somethin’ I hadn’t seen before, an’ it made everythin’ so much worse.”

Unable to stand speaking anymore, Dai hunched over and rested his head in the crook of the girl’s neck, suppressing his sobs to just heaves of his chest, making sure to not make too much noise. Haruka was squeezing him tightly, acting as his only support as he broke down.

For a long while they stayed like that, simply allowing for all the pent up emotions to rush out like a broken dam. It had been too long since Dai had allowed himself the relief of crying so openly, and was thankful to Haruka for allowing a moment that he desperately needed, after the assault of memories.

Once Dai’s crying had evened out to the occasional jerk, and was able to compose himself enough to speak, he continued telling the story in a voice scratched and heavy like an overused motor.

“On her ribs, there was a tattoo. It was different from the rest, cus’ there was way too much scarring, an’ it was a shit job. It looked like someone had cut her skin open an’ pored ink over it. The writing was shit, but I could tell it said ‘whore.’ God, I absolutely lost it. I left Akiko with Shou and ran through the house to find Akiko’s room. I didn’t know what I was lookin’ for, but I knew I had to find something. I just wanted somethin’ that would explain why she… she did that. I couldn’t understand why she did it, an’ I was so damn confused an’ lost an’ I just needed somethin’ – anythin’ that would help in any way. I pretty much trashed her room ‘til I found this ancient video camera, and… I sat there and watched what was on it. It- it showed her puttin’ the camera down in her room, hidin’ it, an’ she sat down and started sketching in a book.”

Dai remembered his naïve frustration from the lack of development in the film, too frantic from the tragedy to think straight; too lost to realise that he needed to be by Akiko’s side.

He wasn’t prepared for what he saw.

“After a while, this man came into the room. He was Akiko’s dad, but I didn’t know that then. He was swayin’, and was obviously drunk off his ass. He started screamin’ as her, and then started hittin’ her. Akiko was fightin’ back, but she was too thin, an’ wasn’t strong enough. He kept beatin’ her around, and then…. –then he, he pushed her down on the bed and pulled her jeans off, an’ he, my god, he fucking raped her! Akiko was screamin’ so bad, beggin’ him ta stop, but he didn’t, an’ I fucking lost it.

“I threw the camera at the wall and ran out the house. I think I heard Shou screamin’ at me, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care that I was gonna do something I’ll probably regret, or that I was leavin’ Akiko. All I wanted was to see the sick fuck pay for what he did.

“I knew where he worked, so I went there on my bike first. I drove around the block a few times an’ then I saw him. He was just walkin’ around like he didn’t just rape his own daughter, like he was some upstandin’ fucking citizen. The arrogant shit even had the audacity to be hummin’. I drove right past him with my arm out and hooked him across the neck. It broke my arm, but I didn’t care. He was tryin ta’ scream on the ground, but nothin’ was comin’ out. I had a chain with me for a job I was workin’ on earlier, so I got off the bike and tied his arm with it, then latched it on the back of my bike. It was fucking cruel what I did, but he deserved it. I just sped off with the bastard bein’ dragged behind me. You would think I’d lost all reason, but I knew to not go fast enough to kill him, so I rode just to fuck up his legs for good. They were barely attached by the time I dragged him to an abandoned warehouse not too far away.”

Dai said everything monotonously, his voice barely hitching even when he confessed to the torture he had willingly commited.

“I got off the bike an’ stood over him, just lookin’ down at all the blood that was poolin’ around us. I wasn’t thinking ‘bout what I was doin’. I just kept kicking him where it hurt most, wantin’ to fuck him up so bad that he’d never be able to touch another girl like he did to Akiko again.

“I seriously don’t remember what happened after that. Next thing I know, I’m in a police station behind bars. I probably should have been scared, but I just didn’t feel anythin’. I still couldn’t admit what happened to Akiko, so I kept asking anyone that passed to let me see her. I didn’t understand why everyone looked at me like they pitied me.

“After a few days I was taken to a different room and was told everythin’ that happened. I was told how Akiko was being abused and repeatedly raped for years. I was told that she’s been collecting money to run away when she was eighteen. I was told that in a journal, she wrote that she wanted to run away and live with me. I was told that she loved me, an’ thought of me as her ticket to a free life. I was also told that what I had seen – the video – was her evidence to take to court, so she could get him arrested. An’ that there was more than one recording of her bein’ raped. At least four, I think. In one of them, the fucker used her tattoo kit to ink her with ‘whore.’ I didn’t watch any of those, though. I don’t think I could have stood it.

“I was also told that I’ll be taken away to juvenile prison, for what I did to Akiko’s dad. From what I was told, he got both legs amputated; his balls crushed, and fractured his neck so was in a coma. He hasn’t come out of it since.

“I didn’t care what they were going to do to me. I didn’t care if they locked me up for life. What I did care about, though, was that I missed Akiko’s funeral. I didn’t even get to properly say goodbye.”

Dai’s eyes were dry, but his face was still flushed from crying, so he didn’t lift his head for a while. He noticed that their surroundings were getting lighter, so he assumed that it was slowly approaching sunrise. Bet despite the approaching time by which they needed to be back, he couldn’t stand stopping there. Somehow, he felt that Haruka understood.

“It was then that I was contacted by the Elements Network. Not directly, but my sentence was postponed, and I was able to go back home. My guess would be that Daiba used his connections to free me. So I went back to this garage, but no one spoke to me. No one spoke to anyone, really. I was still allowed to stay and work there, but it just wasn’t the same. I was officially kicked out by my parents, so I didn’t have the option of goin’ back there, either.

“About a month later, I met Daiba in person. I was ridin’ around the track when this guy in a suit came up to the front gate, and asked to see me. I didn’t really care who he was or what he wanted, but I met him anyway. He told me that under normal conditions, I wouldn’t be allowed to join the Network, because I classified as a criminal. But he told me that he was willing to make an exception. He said that my skills on the bike could be useful to him and his cause, so I was allowed a one-time immunity. And, well, that’s how I came here, and started this life.”

Slowly, the two separated and took a few moments to silently gather the forgotten blanket and their unfinished coke cans, but didn’t go back to the bike just yet. There were still some things that needed to be discussed.

“For a long time I didn’t understand why Akiko was hurtin’ herself.” Dai continued, the two of them looking straight ahead at the sky softening up and clouds parting ethereally for the ascending sun in the east. “If she was goin’ through so much shit as it was, why would she cause more pain for herself, ya know?” Dai began, a detached look glazing his eyes. “But after a few years working in the Elements Network, I met more victims who self-harmed as well, an’ I think I got the idea. My guess is that she was desperate for control; to be in power over somethin’ in her life. She was constantly being hurt by the people around her, an’ felt like she needed to control something; in this case, she wanted to control the pain she felt. It probably calmed her in some way – the cutting, I mean. Maybe she didn’t feel so insignificant when all she had to focus on was the physical pain… Well, that’s just what I think, anyway.”

Finally, Dai brought his narrow gaze back to Haruka, who had an understanding and strangely peaceful expression on her pale face. He wasn’t very surprised at seeing a few new tear tracks on her cheeks either.

For an odd few seconds, there was a kind of mutual sympathy between them, which neither had experienced before with the other. But Dai broke the moment when he suddenly ruffled Haruka’s loose hair so it fell over her face, surprising the girl enough to stumble over to her side. The biker snorted in amusement at the girl’s look of bewilderment while he jumped up from his seat, and threw the ugly blanket over his shoulder as he walked down the hill towards his bike.

“We should probably get back sometime soon, otherwise the blind bastards’ gonna flip his shit at us.” Dai called as he bundled up the warm fabric into a ball, then hurled it towards the building which he stole it from, where it collided against a dusty window with a muffled thump.

Haruka slowly stood up as well and followed the man down where he was busying himself with pulling his helmet over his head. Once it was properly secured, he mounted the vehicle and motioned for the girl to do so as well, which she did without hesitation.

Before Dai started up Brucephalus, he turned his head to regard the teen with a soft look. “Once we get back, I think you should tell somebody somethin’ ‘bout that’s goin’ on. It doesn’t have ta’ be me, but Igawa’s gonna go bald with stress if ya don’t.”

Haruka didn’t look very keen on the idea, but nodded her head. It was evident that she understood where Dai was coming from, and that what he said was true. “Yeah, I will.”

Dai nodded approvingly, but stuck up two fingers for Haruka to see. “And two more things.” He put one down so his glowed index finger was standing up in the brightening sky. “Don’t run off again without tellin’ anyone. Igawa’s heart ain’t gonna be able to handle that. And two;” He raised his middle finder to join the other, so he was holding up the piece sign. “Don’t ever tell anyone that I cried like a baby, got it?” Dai demanded firmly, his dark blush hidden behind the tinted screen of his helmet.

Haruka’s eyes widened at the final condition, but laughed at the biker’s seriousness. “Okay, I promise I won’t.” She said with a happy smile, looping her arms around his torso as she was instructed before.

“Good.” Dai said, turning back to face the front. “Let’s go then.”

* * *

 

As the motorbike smoothly flew out the open gate of the garage, a shadowed figure stepped away from a dirty window and stealthily crept towards the front door of the building it was hiding in. With a soft creek from its hinges, the door cracked open and a man stepped out into the bitter morning air, wrapping his arms around his torso protectively. The man rustled around in his pant pockets and produced a cigarette and a lighter, wedging the cylinder between pale lips and lighting it with a flicker of flames. While he took a few deep breaths of the smoke, he swept his eyes over the hill formerly occupied by the two Network members, then the gates the bike exited.

A small smile curved the corners of his mouth upwards, a tattooed hand running through scarlet hair lazily. “Coming all the way here and not even saying hi. The brat.” Shou murmured endearingly, shaking his head before looking at the blanket pooled at the side of the wall.

“He even messed up my blanket…” Releasing a thin stream of smoke from his lips, Shou contemplated picking up the soiled object but rejected the idea, instead turning on his heels and stepping back into the house, closing the door with a definite click.

“I never liked the thing anyway.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was it okay...? I'm really nervous about what people think about Dai's past, so if you would leave a comment I would really appreciate it. Also, the next chapter will explain Haruka's behaviour, so look forward to it. Bye


	12. Diagnosis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally team Blade receives some long awaited answers, but not without its own set of issues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter took way too long to complete, but I think it was worth it. The explanations are quite technical, but I hope it makes sense. My understanding of neurology and psychology are far from impressive, so if there are any blatant mistakes, please point them out and I will try to fix them to the best of my abilities. I hope you enjoy this update, and any feedback would be greatly appreciated.  
> Bye

One of the many downfalls of blindness was that Mamoru became keenly aware of every slight movement around him, no matter how hard he tried to block them out. Although his heightened awareness did prove useful in many situations – saving his life in the more extreme ones – his current state was not one of them.

Mamoru, Igawa, Dai and Juliet had assembled in the lounge, and the swordsman had the misfortune of listening to everyone’s individual nervous ticks. Igawa impatiently bounced his leg, causing small vibrations to assault Mamoru’s touch; Juliet kept rustling her hair and sighing heavily; but perhaps the worst of all was the aggravating popping noise coming from Dai, who absently blew up a strawberry bubble gum, then chewed it with an absurdly loud noise. As if the pungent smell of artificial flavouring wasn’t bad enough.

“You have two choices, Dai. Either you stop popping that gum, or I shove it down your throat and you pray you don’t choke.” Mamoru warned darkly, head bent forwards and arms crossed tautly over his chest.

“I thought you were asleep.” Igawa commented, evidently amused by his partner’s irritation. Just hearing the slight hitch in the man’s voice from his smirk was enough for Mamoru’s tolerance to almost break.

“Obviously not you dumb shit.”

“Hey, isn’t that a song? I think it was from ‘Chicago.’” Juliet said absently, twirling a stand of hair around her nimble fingers.

“What’s a song?” Mamoru growled, but the woman was unfazed by his bemusement.

“In ‘Cell block tango,’ one of the chicks was talking about her ex-boyfriend that was always popping gum, and when he didn’t stop, she ‘took the shotgun off the wall and fired two warning shots into his head,’ or something like that.”

“That sounds very appealing.”

“Whoa, calm ya’ tits!” Dai piped up, purposefully blowing the gum up as big as it would go and bursting it in Mamoru’s direction. _Pop._

Feeling a muscle on his temple twitch, Mamoru rubbed the corners of his eyes and tried to ignore his desire to break the biker’s jaw. “How long are those two going to be?” He said irritably, referring to Haruka and the guest that had arrived at the headquarters over two hours ago.

* * *

 

_The moment Dai opened the door and stepped into the house, he was roughly shoved aside by a flustered Igawa, who promptly pulled Haruka into a fierce hug. Despite the lack of words, his worry and relief at Haruka’s return was conveyed through the slight tremor in his embrace and the strength at which he held her to him. But the moment of endearment ended just as quickly, with Igawa pulling the girl at arm’s length so he could bombard her with rapid-firing questions._

_“What were you thinking?! We were so worried! Don’t you know how dangerous it is out there for you? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Are you-“_

_Before his frantic interrogation could continue, Dai grabbed the back of the techie’s black hoodie and yanked him away, electing a loud choking noise from the man as his tattooed hands flew up to his threatened throat._

_“Let ‘er breathe, ya’ idiot.”_

_“But-“_

_“Shut up, Igawa.”_

_Hearing the intensity of the command, Igawa went quiet and nodded slowly, distancing himself from the girl with a meek apology. The biker nodded approvingly and chucked his helmet onto the coffee table, but it skidded off and rolled across the polished wooden floor. Dai clicked his tongue in irritation, glaring at Juliet when she snorted smugly._

_Haruka smiled tenderly at them, and then moved further into the room where Juliet and Mamoru were seated on the couch. Before anyone else had a chance to speak, Haruka began with a tone of conviction that the adults had not heard from her in a very long time._

_“First of all, I’m sorry for what I did. I know I shouldn’t have, but I needed to be alone for a while.” Haruka could feel Mamoru’s meaningful stare burning into her back, but chose to ignore it. His promise that they had not finished their conversation weighed heavily on her shoulders, but now was not the time for it. “Secondly, I have a request.” Receiving quizzical glances from the techie and infiltrator, the girl connected her eyes with Dai, who gave her an uncharacteristically encouraging nod. Taking a deep breath, she continued. “I want to speak with the quantum physicist Alpha introduced me to when I first joined the network; in person.”_

_“I don’t know, Haruka.” Igawa began after a pause, remembering the blindfolded professor with a rich knowledge of precognition theories. It had been a while since he had last spoken with his mentor, and passingly wondered what the man had been up to in the recent months. “Even if we could reach him at this hour, he’s on the other side of the city. It’ll take him at least an hour to get here.”_

_“I’ll wait.” Haruka replied simply, as she spun around and began to walk towards the staircase, but paused at the base and said over her shoulder, “And don’t worry, he’s available.”_

* * *

 

Just as Haruka said, when they finally got in contact with the professor, they were informed that he was indeed free. In fact, he was not far from their location due to a business trip to a nearby university, thus leaving just enough time for Haruka to shower and change into more descent clothing before his arrival. So after briefing him about the precog’s request, the physicist agreed to come over, despite the obvious fatigue present in his voice. They all felt bad for denying a senior citizen his necessary rest, but they knew whatever Haruka needed him for was urgent.

So now the adults waited impatiently in the lounge while Haruka and the professor secluded themselves in the girl’s room, doing whatever it was they needed to do.

“How long are they gonna take?” Dai kept grumbling having finally spat out the gum after Mamoru had drawn his sword in warning.

Just as the swordsman was about to snap back at him, they heard a door creak open from the second floor, followed by light footsteps padding towards them. Everyone sat up straighter when Haruka emerged with her arm looped around the professor’s, a blank expression easing her light complexion. The physicist, however, did not appear calm at all. The blindfold covering his eyes did nothing to conceal the deep furrow of his brow, and his thin lips were curved down into a frown. The only thing orderly about his appearance was his pressed white suit and neatly parted greying hair.

“Thank you all for waiting so patiently.” The professor began, nodding individually at each adult. “I understand that you have many questions regarding Miss Haruka, and I wish to answer as much as I am capable of doing.” He then motioned towards the dining table and guided Haruka towards the head of it, and seated himself at the other end. Once everyone else had settled down along the sides, the professor laced his fingers under his chin and leant forwards, keeping silent for a minute before finally speaking again.

“As answering your queries individually would be laborious and inefficient, I shall brief you on my theory as to what is happening with your charge. I would appreciate it if you would hold back any questions until I have finished.” Receiving approving nods from the four, the professor inhaled and said gravely, “What I am about to tell you will surely be very disturbing, but you must accept it, and work with it. Remember, none of what is happening to her is Miss Haruka’s fault. Show tolerance and patience… I assure you, she’s going to need it.”

Igawa and Juliet shared concerned glances, the two of them trying to consider all possibilities but failing to do so. They were aware of her odd behaviour and changes in personality recently, but other than that, were mostly ignorant to the more severe occurrences. Dai and Mamoru – the most informed of the four – chanced glances at Haruka but received no reaction. The girl just looked numb, gazing absently at the table top with her hands neatly folded in her lap. Somehow she looked years older than her age, perhaps already in her twenties, if not even thirties. Mamoru noted that there were some definite changes to her body from when they first met, with Haruka’s face narrower and more defined, neck lengthened, slim physique and feminine curves forming on her body. The teenager before him was a stark contrast to the twelve year-old that had called for his help on that crowded street many years ago.

“As I believe you are already aware,” The professor broke Mamoru away from his musings, gathering everyone’s attention back to the issue at hand, “Miss Haruka’s precognitive abilities are a form of advanced survival instinct. If I remember correctly, Mr Hijikata commented that it was not abnormal for a master in martial arts to acquire a degree of precognition to combat a threat they are faced with. Well, I have come to the conclusion that the ability Miss Haruka possesses is very sensitive to adaptation. By this I mean, it is similar to Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection, but in a single individual in a remarkably short length of time, rather than in a specie over centuries, if not millenniums. To survive in a threatening environment, particular traits most suited to a person’s survival are enhanced.”

Igawa was about to interrupt, but the professor waved his hand to stop him. Begrudgingly the techie closed his mouth and raked his fingers along his cornrows, opting to keep his questions until later.

“I understand that you are restless, so I shall do my best to be clear. What I am getting at, is that Miss Haruka’s abilities have been going through a process of _evolution_.”

All four adults jerked their heads up in mixed responses, varying from confusion, astonishment, alarm, and in Igawa’s case, mild terror. Haruka fidgeted in her seat nervously, but otherwise remained unresponsive.

“At the time at which Miss Haruka joined the Elements Network, her abilities were only strong enough to assist her in surviving in her old life style – it didn’t have to be anything more. Although threats were still present – maybe a natural disaster or a road accident – they were certainly never to the current extent.

“However, after years of semi-permanent danger, her survival instincts began to evolve to accommodate the sudden change in her life. The basic level of her precognition was no longer enough to protect Miss Haruka from all the threats she encountered in life, thus it began to strengthen and evolve.”

“Wait wait wait.” Igawa interjected once more, pushing himself up from his seat to tower over the other occupants at the table. “What do you mean by her precognition evolving? Human qualities don’t just change that easily.”

“Actually, cognitive capabilities are constantly undergoing minor changes and adaptations throughout the lifespan. I don’t know how strong your understanding of neuroplasticity is, but the ‘plastic’ of the word comes from the brain’s flexibility and ability to change. This may be boring to you, but I would like to give you a theory I have regarding Miss Haruka’s precognition. My original opinion was that her ability was the next step in human advancement, for the entire specie. But if that were the case, why hasn’t there been anyone else with true powers, such as hers? So I considered that perhaps the cause of Miss Haruka’s ability was actually a neurological mutation during early development. By this I mean, perhaps it is a unique condition similar to Savant Syndrome, where people demonstrate exceptional brilliance in certain areas; in her case, rapid assessment and predictions based on informed logic. What if there was a biological mutation or abnormality in her genetic makeup, which caused hyper-activity in the frontal lobes of her brain, where planning, rationalising, decision making and abstract thought processes primarily takes place. Does this not seem plausible?”

In the wake of stunned silence, the professor regarded his fellow Elements members, before finally turning to Haruka. “Would you mind illustrating to them what you told me? I doubt my explanation was adequate here.”

Haruka nodded and sat a little forward, keeping her eyes downcast to avoid the scrutiny of her teammates. “Before I was targeted by Ex-solid and the yakuza, I would generally have a premonition about once every few days without willingly trying to, and the frequency slowly began to increase as I got older. After I joined the Elements Network, and especially after the first few major encounters with enemies, I realised that I started having more visions with greater clarity. I didn’t think much of it, because it was helping team Blade in our missions. But it just kept strengthening, and I thought maybe I would be able to train it. You know, like if my ability was similar to a muscle, the more I use it the stronger it would be. So I started trying different things, like meditating or writing everything I saw in my visions down on paper. And I did see an improvement. I was excited at first, but then… things started to change.

“It used to be normal for my dreams to mix with visions, but in the past year or so they became much more vivid and real. Sometimes I would think I was actually there, and it wasn’t just seeing things anymore; it was all my senses. I would hear, smell, taste, and feel things in my visions. It was just so real and frankly it terrified me. So I stopped trying to strengthen my precognition, but it kept escalating. Then it wasn’t just in my dreams either. It started happening while I was awake, and sometimes I couldn’t distinguish between reality and my visions; present and future. I would have at least ten visions a day, some lasting only a few seconds, but others a couple minutes. I think one time it went for about an hour. I was just really losing control over it, and it… it was terrifying.”

Small tremors shook Haruka’s shoulders, and everyone – aside from Mamoru – could see the paleness of her skin. She truly looked tormented and fretful, weary of the things she saw.

“Once when you four were on a mission and I was alone at home,” she continued softly, “I had a vision about a house fire. I didn’t know the exact location, but I saw a woman there that I didn’t recognize. She was screaming and trying to reach her baby that was still in it’s crib. And I was there, too. Not like how it used to be, watching a sort of echo of myself passing through the scene, but like I was physically there. I could feel the heat from the flames and smell all the smoke. But I think it was the noise that was the worst. It was just so loud, like the world was screaming in my ear to do something, anything, to save those people. But I didn’t know what to do. I could feel my skin burning and lungs going dry. My body was going black and my clothes were melting onto me. And the mother… she wouldn’t leave the crib. Even when she could barely stand and her eyes were all dried up, she still tried to go forward… When the crib finally went up in flames, she still kept going. And going, and going. In the end she walked right into the fire… I think she wanted to be with her baby…”

Haruka was on the verge of crying now, shaking her shoulders and allowing her fringe to fall over her eyes to shield them from sight. She lightly rocked back and forth in her seat, nervously tapping her foot on the tile floor to distract herself from the memory playing back in her mind.

“I eventually woke up on the kitchen floor, barely breathing and crying my eyes out. I threw up a few times but just couldn’t calm down. I honestly though that I had died in there. That that was reality, and there was no life left for me. I was just, s-so scared, and I couldn’t handle any of it. I wanted all the noise going in my mind to shut up, to leave me alone, and I would have done everything for it to all _just stop_ …”

The professor rounded the table and handed the girl his handkerchief, placing a wrinkled hand on the girl’s shoulder comfortingly. Whispering a thank you, Haruka dabbed at the corners of her eyes to stop any tears from leaking out. He let her compose herself before he started to speak again in a low voice, slow with caution.

“I had discussed what I am about to tell you with Miss Haruka prior this conversation, and received her consent with sharing this information. I will warn you that it is a delicate topic, and I again ask that you reserve your judgements to yourself.” Receiving slow nods, he sighed heavily and began. “Although I am a quantum physicist, I have been involved with psychological practices and have assessed many case studies with my colleagues, and have discovered that many people who are faced with trauma or mental disturbances seek ways in which to control their destructive emotions. This can be observed in alcohol or drug abuse, binge eating, isolation, which can then develop into a behavioural disorder of its own, such as in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, where the sufferer seeks to control their anxiety with their compulsions and-or obsessions. From what Miss Haruka has told me, she, too, exhibits some behaviours which are of concern…

“Being exposed to the aftermath of crimes, I’m sure you have come across victims who self-harm as a method of coping with their pain.” Igawa and Juliet’s eyes widen dramatically, their expressions morphing into ones of stunned realisation, then to pained remorse. It was true that they had met people who would hurt themselves to try and cope with the tragedy they had just experienced – Juliet herself had fallen into a bout of alcohol dependency after being raped and mutilated in her teens – but they had never even considered that Haruka may be like that. The other two men’s responses were a lot more controlled, evidently expecting this topic to come up eventually.

“I will not go into much detail at the moment, as it is Miss Haruka’s decision how much she shares with you, but I will say that it involves physical harm and also food restriction. You may have noticed that she has lost a significant amount of weight, despite her attempts to conceal it under loose clothing. I weighed her before coming downstairs, and calculated her BMI to be just within the healthy weight range, but I would assume that given a week or so she would have fallen under it… From what she has explained to me, Miss Haruka has taken to controlling her internal pain and confusion by injuries and starvation.”

“Does that mean she has an eating disorder?” Juliet asked wearily, flickering her eyes between the girl and the professor behind her.

“Potentially. However, I would advise you to see a trained professional in the psychological field to make the diagnosis. Also, I would suggest seeking the help of a nutritionist. Her poor diet will not do any good, nor will being so close emaciation.”

“Professor,” Igawa spoke up, eyebrows furrowed in concern as he rubbed his temple, “…what do you- or, well, what would you expect to be the future developments from here on? Regarding Haruka’s precognition, I mean.”

The professor hummed thoughtfully, running through possibilities and weighing their likelihoods. “Well, one thing I am certain of is that things will not stop here. Although it pains me to say this, it is my belief that Miss Haruka’s precognition will never cease to adapt. No, I am sure this will never stop so long as she has powerful enemies coming after her. For as long as Miss Haruka continues to use her powers – willingly or not – new neurons will continue to be formed to accommodate the increasing demands of her brain, and this process of synaptogenesis will forever continue. However,” Again he lifted a hand to stop Igawa’s desperate objection to the claim, “that does not meant things will not get better.” At the adults’ confused looks, he sighed again and smiled weakly at them. “The source of Miss Haruka’s current adversity is not that her ability is advancing, but rather she does not know how to deal with it. It is the sudden and drastic biological change occurring in her psych that is confusing and distressing her. Theoretically, if she is able to develop ways in which to cope with these changes, she should be able to continue a lifestyle not crippled by her mental state.” When he noticed Haruka peeking up at him hopefully, he smiled a little wider and reassuringly patted her thin shoulder. “There are many forms of successful behavioural therapies which could be of help, and even now it would do no harm to explore different methods of controlling your emotions. I’m sure it would be no major blow to your team’s budget to invest in a few notebooks or sketchbooks.”

“Sketchbooks sound good.” Haruka murmured with a timid smile, which the professor returned with a wider and more genuine one.

“Good, good. Well, I shall refer Mr Igawa a few professionals whom I see as trustworthy and loyal to the Network. In the meantime, I should be getting back to my hotel as I have a plane to catch tomorrow. There’s a physics lecture in Boston which I am required to attend, though I would prefer much more to stay in my office and continue my research.”

“I’ll see you to the door.” Mamoru stated after his long stretch of silence, getting up from his seat and walking towards the entrance.

The professor nodded thankfully and adjusted his blindfold, about to follow the swordsman when he was stopped by a light tug on his blazer sleeve. He looked down to see Haruka with a sincerely appreciative expression, a crooked smile playing at her dry lips. Although her eyes still shimmered with unshed tears, they were no longer drowning in sorrow, and certainly looked more alive. “Thank you for coming on such short notice, professor. I appreciate it a lot.”

“It was no trouble, Miss Haruka. If ever you need to contact me again, Mr Igawa has my number. I will always be willing to assist you however I can.”

Haruka smiled gratefully, then closed her eyes for a second and said, “Also, please avoid Yagawa road on your way back.”

The professor raised his eyebrows at her caution. “Oh? And why might that be, Miss?”

“There’s going to be an accident there in eleven minutes, and I assume you would prefer to avoid a traffic jam at the moment.”

“True, I’ve never had much patience for traffic congestion. Well, thank you for the warning. I’m sure you just saved a few people receiving verbal abuse from a very tired old man.”

Haruka chuckled gleefully and lightly bowed at the elderly as he followed Mamoru out of the room, then returned her attention to the remaining three adults.

“Um, if there’s gonna be an accident soon, should be do something about it?” Igawa asked, already gravitating towards his colossal computer set.

“No, it’s okay. No one gets hurt. And anyway, there’s going to be a police car driving past about two minutes later, so it will get sorted out.”

Igawa marvelled at the precision at which Haruka was able to foretell the future events, but just to be sure, walked across the room and clicked on the radio to listen in on the police reports of the area.

While he was busying himself with that, Juliet regarded the younger girl critically before finally mustering the will to resurface a delicate topic. “Hey, Haruka… The house fire you spoke about, did… did anything happen?”

The girl stiffened initially, but slowly relaxed back against her chair, though she still looked a little tense at the reminder. “Well, after I managed to calm down from the vision, I tried finding the woman from our database. Because my visions generally only see things about people I am close to, I thought I must have had some extent of interaction with her, even if I don’t remember it. So I got onto Igawa-san’s computer and looked for females in Tokyo who had given birth to a child in the past year, as well as narrowing the results to people who matched the woman’s features and also to people in a middle-class economic background.”

“How did you know her economic status?” Juliet asked, intrigued, resting her chin in her palm.

“Well it’s not that I knew, rather I took a guess based on the interior of the room. The occupants seemed well-off, but not overwhelmingly wealthy. But in the end I managed to find her in the search, so it doesn’t really matter.”

“So what did you do then?”

“I looked through her personal information and learned more about her, and when I felt more in control over my ability, and I was a lot calmer, I tried seeing more visions about her, until eventually I could figure out what the cause of the fire was.”

“Which was?”

“Are ya playin’ twenty questions or what?” Dai grumbled from the side, yelping when he received a jab to his calf by the woman opposite him.

Haruka smiled at their usual interaction before resuming the conversation. “Well, apparently she lost her husband in a terrorist invasion a decade ago – which is why she was registered by the Network – so was living alone with her baby. Some thieves heard about her situation and thought she was an easy target. So they planned to one day break into the house, probably assault the woman, steal her valuable items and then burn the house down to destroy evidence. And they would have succeeded, if only the police hadn’t been anonymously tipped off about their illegal ownership of weapons. So now the mother is still safe at her home raising her one and a half year old son.”

Dai whistled, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m impressed. Didn’t think you had it in ya.”

“Dai.” Igawa and Juliet warned simultaneously, to which Haruka chuckled.

Things were going to be okay.

* * *

 

“Things aren’t going to be okay, are they?”

“I see you’re still quite the pessimist, Mr Hijikata.” The professor stated outside the front entrance, shaking his head at his fellow Elements member. “That attitude of yours isn’t exactly your best trait, I’m sorry to say.”

“Don’t be. I like it.” Mamoru retorted, leaning his tall frame against the cool surface of the door. “But realistically, things aren’t going to go as smoothly as you implied back there, right?”

The professor sighed – he was doing that a lot recently – and rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly. “Unfortunately, you are quite right. Due to precognition being a mostly unexplored field, it would be difficult to develop new methods of therapy. However, what would probably be most challenging is addressing her self-destructive behaviours.” The professor took a step closer to the swordsman, both their faces turning grave at the issue being discussed. “You must approach her self-harming and poor eating habits as an addiction, so it is expected for her to have many relapses and fall-backs. The path to recovery is never one of ease, and certainly not without bends. Some days will be easier than others, while others will be more challenging. You must have patience, Mr Hijikata; no matter what.”

Mamoru stayed quiet for a moment as he contemplated the new information. “And this evolution she’s having, do you think there’s a limit to it?”

“Well, as I said previously, precognition is virtually unexplored, so it is hard to say. However, no matter how advanced Miss Haruka’s mind is in comparison to the rest of the population, I doubt her capacity is limitless. Theoretically, she would eventually reach a point where she can expand no further. Whether the cause will be due to reaching the maximum capacity of her brain’s function or her mentality no longer being able to handle the change, I am unsure. However, the typical brain only uses ten per-cent of its full capacity, so there is still an additional ninety per-cent of brain usage available, and it will take an astounding amount of effort and time for Miss Haruka to reach that limit.”

“Are there any surer ways of suppressing her abilities?” Mamoru’s tone began to hold a twinge of urgency and unease, obviously unhappy with the truths being presented to him.

“There is always the option of medication, but that will need a lot of consideration before you reach any decisions. It would do no good to be haste with it, especially when we have very little idea as to what the side effects would be on her unique mind. More so when she is in such a fragile state; it would be a risky procedure. And also, I am not sure Miss Haruka would appreciate her powers being taken away.”

“And why is that? You saw how badly she was taking this so-called ‘evolution.’ Why would she want to keep it the way it is?”

“Mr Hijikata,” The professor began gravely, his expression shadowed by both emotional and physical exhaustion, “how would you like to regain your eyesight?”

Mamoru shut up immediately, body tensing and feeling his jaw clench fiercely.

“I’m sure there would be many benefits to seeing again, so if you were given such a choice; would you take it? You would be able to appreciate the infinite spectrum of colour again; properly know what your team mates look like; take in every fine detail of the world you miss with only your glasses. Would it not be easier, if only you lost this disability?”

Mamoru hesitated for a long minute, trying to think of an adequate answer. It was true that he had considered such an unrealistic occurrence, pondering a life where his sight was never taken from him. He would lay away at night and picture the deep hues of sunrise, trying to remember how they changed with the seasons. He thought about the different greens in summer, and the blazing mountains in autumn. The blankness of winter where he used to train in blizzards was but a distant and fading image. It would be a cruel lie to say he did not miss them, but to see again…?

“…No.” He finally murmured, eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. “No, I wouldn’t take it back. Not now.”

“And why is that, may I ask?” The way the professor stated the question clearly showed he already knew the answer, but wanted Mamoru to say it for himself.

“Because I’ve grown dependent on this; on being blind. Although it hinders many things, the rewards are greater. I can pick up on things I would otherwise be oblivious to, and its more beneficial to the Network. But more than that, I don’t think I would be able to handle regaining sight. It took so long to adjust to seeing nothing but black, and I can’t imagine myself seeing anything else ever again.”

“Exactly.” The professor idled himself with adjusting his necktie while he continued. “From a report I read on the assault by the Black Unit a few years ago, when Miss Haruka was unable to use her precognitive abilities, she panicked and was unable to think logically. This inability to be rational in crucial situations may well be her down fall. And what was the cause of it? It’s simple; losing her visions. You see, Mr Hijikata, it is my belief that Miss Haruka has grown increasingly dependent on her abilities. It is what saved her time and time again, after all. I also believe that Miss Haruka would feel like a burden is she was of no benefit to the Network. She is afraid, Mr Hijikata. Not of her powers growing, but of not being able to control, and therefore use it. She would not know how to live without the assistance of her visions. Depriving her of this precognition would be like taking away a person’s legs because they were fractured. A permanent fix to a temporary problem. Sure, there will be benefits to suppressing her abilities, but what would happen if either herself or her team were under threat? Would she appreciate that you had taken away the only means of her being able to save people? No, I would think not.”

Satisfied at the state of his tie, the professor began to turn around but halted. “Think of Miss Haruka’s visions as a sort of fight-or-flight response; a function of her sympathetic nervous system to prepare her body to combat a threat. Without this survival response, she will surely be dead by now.”

With that final statement, the professor made his retreat to his parked car, bowing his head in farewell before ducking inside.

When the tail lights of the professor’s car turned around a corner, Mamoru finally made his way back to his team mates. Igawa was fiddling around his computer and had the radio streaming through its speakers, while Dai and Juliet were bantering over something unimportant. Haruka simply sat at the table with a far-off look, not saying anything and keeping to herself.

Sighing tiredly, Mamoru approached the girl from behind and placed his hand on her head, causing a jump of surprise. He lightly rubbed her soft hair, lost in his memories of a frightened girl and cries for his help.

“I’m sorry.”

They were both shocked at the sincerity in his voice, but made no comment of the uncharacteristic expression of remorse. Dai and Juliet were just out of ear-shot, so they didn’t worry about being overheard.

“I should have realized sooner.”

Haruka looked up intently at her protector, then gently placed her smaller hand on top of his, giving it a comforting squeeze. Mamoru recognized that she was telling him that he was forgiven, and that she did not blame him. The small smile on her lips only supported that.

They silently looked each other in their eyes for a few moments, conveying everything that could not be articulated with words. Remorse, thankfulness, apologies, forgiveness.

The dull unseeing eyes and the ones that saw too much connected deeply, and for the first time in a long while, they felt nothing but emotion; no regard of the past, no care of the future. Only now, forever now.

In a breathy whisper, Haruka said tenderly;

“Thank you.”


End file.
